Why Buying a Baby Health Monitor Could Increase Your Anxiety

Most new parents want two things: the best for their child and more sleep. These are the selling points for wearable biometric devices which promise to monitor baby's breath, heart rate and oxygen levels during sleep. However, healthcare professionals from advocacy groups and the Canadian Paediatric Society are urging parents to avoid the products which may be less reliable than presented. Plus, when it comes to parental wellbeing, experts say the devices often do more harm than good. 

Kelly Brown, a pediatric nurse and a founding member of Bye Bye Baby Biometrics, a coalition of more than 100 pediatricians, OB-GYNs, sleep specialists, parents and industry advocates, tried one of these wearable monitors with her firstborn. She says the internet-dependent device frequently fell off or lost connectivity, sounding an alarm while displaying inaccurate readings about her child’s respiratory or oxygen rates. This happened six times before she put the product away for good. 

“As a nurse, I could assess my child and see he’s breathing fine,” said Brown. “But there are so many people that have no medical background and they’re thinking: this is real. My child is hurt.”

Brown also saw many parents, worried about incorrect readings from a wearable monitor, rushing babies into hospitals and clinics. “Typically, 90 percent of the time they’re perfectly fine,” she said. “It’s just an error in the device.” 

Brown says that parents may be misled by monitors termed FDA-cleared since this certification does not require the independent clinical trials undergone by FDA-approved products. The organization is calling on baby tech companies to shift away from fear-based sales tactics and embrace transparency by more clearly stating device capabilities. 

How accurate are these devices? 

When the Owlet Dream Sock received FDA clearance, a press release from the company said the sock was proven to be as accurate as medical-grade baby monitoring technology. Still, the company’s website reminds parents that the device is designed for in-home use on healthy infants only.

Similarly, Nanit says their products are not currently classified as medical devices. Instead, their breathing motion monitoring features are meant to give parents peace of mind.

“With our innovative tech and personalized data, we are turning apprehensive parents into confident pros by eliminating second-guessing and enabling parents to make more informed decisions,” said a representative from Nanit. “By helping parents monitor and track what they couldn’t before, we’re helping them feel more in control and reduce their mental load.” The representative also said that Nanit products undergo rigorous testing for accuracy, safety and reliability.

Are biometric baby monitors necessary?

Many experts say that biometric monitors for healthy babies and worried parents are, at best, unnecessary. Sam Wong, the Director of Medical Affairs at the Canadian Paediatric Society, says that since healthy infants do not have underlying health concerns requiring a biometric device, the organization generally does not recommend monitoring those babies during sleep. 

“Even if they do have health concerns, we do not recommend the use of these devices as they may increase parental anxiety,” said Wong. “At-home biometric devices can be expensive and the technology is usually quite sensitive, so they ring off frequently.”

Fear-based advertising and the parental anxiety cycle

Wendy Potter is chair of the Board of Directors at Baby’s Breath Canada, a foundation focused on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and providing bereavement support to families facing infant loss. 

Potter says monitor manufacturers sometimes use marketing campaigns which exaggerate the potential risks of not tracking say, heart rate, to instil the sense that an unnecessary product is essential to a baby’s survival. 

Retail analyst Bruce Winder says that parental anxiety might influence buying decisions. He says that if a caretaker feels they are not fully protecting their child, they may feel anxious until that need is satisfied by the product or service being marketed to them. 

As a “SIDS mom,” Potter says she understands such anxiety. But she also says some parents may feel more distressed by a monitor constantly churning out metrics and readings, not to mention the possibility of false alarms. Psychotherapist Yzobela Hyett, who works with parents experiencing perinatal mood disorders, agrees.

Hyett says that while parents may feel reassured by the device at-first, it may lead to more anxiety in the long run. They address an uncomfortable feeling temporarily, but not the anxiety itself, which may then manifest in other ways. Plus, she says, there is no evidence of these devices providing any safety guarantees.

Hyett says that these devices often start an uncomfortable cycle. “That felt better for a while, but now they start not trusting the monitor to actually wake them up if something happens. So now they’re waking up to check the monitor.” She says other developments may include not trusting the device’s readouts or forging a dependency on the product. 

Winder says that, in his opinion, it would be unethical to market a product or service to parents who have an anxiety disorder while unduly emphasizing child safety and security.

“This is predatory marketing towards vulnerable people and doesn’t really serve them or their infants,” said Hyett. 

For those who may use biometric monitors on healthy babies without feeling overwhelmed by the readings, it is important to remember that a monitor is no replacement for tried and true safe sleep practices.  

Safe sleep practices

Parents cannot completely eliminate the risk of SIDS, but there are ways to reduce it. 

“It sucks that we can’t control the universe and we can’t prevent bad things from ever happening,” said Hyett. “But part of being a parent is having to learn to accept that. Otherwise, we get helicopter parents who don’t let their kids go down the slide because something bad might happen.”

Focus on what you can control. Wong says the Canadian Paediatric Society recommends that parents and caregivers follow these evidence-backed tips. 

Place infants on their backs

Babies should go to sleep tummy-up on a firm mattress with no extra padding or blankets. There should also be no gaps between the mattress and the crib itself. To avoid a flat head caused by laying on their backs, babies should have lots of tummy time when awake. 

According to Wong, this is an especially important recommendation for parents looking to reduce the risk of SIDS.

Don’t clutter the crib

To prevent suffocation, the Canadian Paediatric Society also recommends that cribs do not contain any stuffed toys or items that babies could roll onto.

Prevent overheating

Infants should be dressed so that they don’t overheat. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, a room temperature that’s comfortable for you will probably be comfortable for your baby, too.

Remove baby’s outerwear, like jackets, snowsuits and hats, while they sleep.

Avoid smoking

Wong says caregivers should keep in mind that parental smoking is a SIDS risk factor. Keep your home smoke-free, before and after the baby is born.