Baby Who Stops Breathing During Sleep Baffles Doctors

A 9-month-old baby who stops breathing in his sleep and had to be revived 19 times last year is continuing to baffle doctors in Australia, the Herald Sun reported Monday.

Joshua Herron's parents remain constantly alert for the beeping alarm of a neo-natal respiratory monitor, which will go off if he does not take a breath for 20 seconds, after Joshua goes to sleep.

"I just haven't been able to sleep at night. I'm afraid that if I go to sleep and [Josh's father] Damien doesn't hear it, what happens?" said his mother, Susie Herron.

"The panic is there from the moment the alarm goes. You don't know if he's going to take a breath this time."

The best explanation for Joshua's condition so far is an immaturity between his brain and his respiratory center.

Doctors at Melbourne's Mercy Hospital, where Joshua was born, quickly realized something was wrong when a blood test revealed lactate levels that would normally be seen in a baby on the cusp of death.

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Despite tests and regular medical appointments, no answer has yet emerged.