Buzz
Every new parent, including myself, lives in fear of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. It’s the primary cause of mortality for infants aged one month to one year, claiming 2,500 lives annually as they sleep. This fear drives us to constantly monitor our babies' breathing.
Many wonder if this anxiety lessens with time. As a parent of three, I find I worry less than I did with my first child. Yet, if she naps longer than thirty minutes, I still find myself tiptoeing into her room, watching her chest for the reassuring rise and fall.
Is it any surprise that parents are hyper-vigilant about their infants' well-being during naps? The mystery surrounding the causes of SIDS only adds to our anxiety. Although the risk is minimal, hospitals emphasize the importance of placing babies on their backs and ensuring a safe sleeping environment. These daily precautions are our way of combating SIDS, keeping it constantly in our thoughts.
Experts propose a “triple risk” model for SIDS: an underlying vulnerability in the baby’s brain or breathing, a developmental phase that disrupts bodily stability, and an environmental trigger. This trigger might include exposure to secondhand smoke or the baby sleeping on their stomach rather than their back.
Is Technology the Solution to Our Anxiety?
The Owlet device is a wireless gadget that slips into your baby’s sock. According to the company, the app will alert you if your baby’s breathing stops. You can monitor your baby’s status from anywhere—whether you’re in another room, on a date, or traveling for work—to ensure they’re safe.
This sounds incredible, but it also feels like the pinnacle of overprotective parenting. Do you really need to monitor every breath your child takes? It’s likely overkill. Plus, at $249, it’s not cheap—if it were $20 at Target, it might just become as essential as a car seat, crib, or diapers.
Owlet isn’t alone in this space. Devices like Sproutling ($299), Mimo ($199), and Monbaby ($169) also offer features to track your baby’s breathing. Each works differently: Mimo and Monbaby detect chest movement, Sproutling measures heart rate, and Owlet tracks blood oxygen levels, similar to the
Will these monitors actually assist in a crisis? Owlet claims it will notify you if your baby stops breathing, but it doesn’t specify what actions to take afterward. Personally, I’m unsure how I’d react if I discovered my baby wasn’t breathing during one of my nighttime checks. My instinct would be to pick her up, gently pat her, call for my husband, dial 911, and start CPR.
Owlet’s website doesn’t address this scenario. Their Common Questions section vaguely touches on it: “Does Owlet ensure my baby’s safety? No,... Your baby’s safety is your responsibility.” Most questions focus on sock fit and care. Deep in the tech support section, Owlet provides a list of steps for a red alert, primarily advising you to check the sock’s fit—hardly a lifesaving guide.
This approach feels oddly incomplete for a product marketed as life-saving. There’s no guidance on how to use it in an emergency. Perhaps Owlet overlooked this (SIDS is rare, after all), or they’re cautious because the product is not regulated or approved as a medical device. Still, my habit of checking on the baby isn’t a medical solution either.
Knowing a baby has stopped breathing doesn’t guarantee you can intervene effectively.
I reached out to David King, a pediatric clinical lecturer at Sheffield University, to understand his skepticism about Owlet and similar monitors. He expressed his concerns in a paper published in The BMJ.
“These devices have never undergone significant testing,” Dr. King states. Essentially, there’s no evidence they can save lives. He highlights that research from the 1970s and 1980s found monitors didn’t prevent SIDS deaths and likely couldn’t. A 1988 review in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences cites cases where babies died despite being monitored, and resuscitation failed. Knowing a baby has stopped breathing doesn’t ensure you can intervene effectively.
If a device isn’t effective, is it better to avoid it? Using a monitor might increase anxiety, particularly with false alarms. The 1988 study noted that monitors heightened parental stress, especially when one parent favored using the device and the other didn’t. Older monitors were costly, bulky, and prone to disconnections. Modern monitors are more user-friendly, but I can imagine couples arguing over whether one partner is overly reliant on the baby monitor app during date night.
Owlet’s founder dismissed Dr. King’s concerns, pointing out that he isn’t a parent and can’t understand the constant anxiety. “I’m not suggesting they should be banned,” Dr. King clarifies. He simply believes parents should understand these monitors lack a “medical purpose,” and manufacturers should avoid implying otherwise.
Ultimately, is there a significant difference between a breathing monitor like Owlet and a video baby monitor that lets you watch your child’s chest rise and fall? Sometimes, we just crave another way to reassure ourselves.
I can’t help but think that if someone is anxious enough to buy a breathing monitor, they might channel that energy more productively—either as an alternative or alongside it. Here are some actions that could genuinely save your child’s life—or someone else’s—someday.
Enroll in an infant first aid and CPR course. These are frequently available at hospitals, fire departments, or through organizations like the American Heart Association and American Red Cross.
Ensure a safe sleeping space for your baby by placing them on their back and removing stuffed animals, bumpers, or other soft items, no matter how adorable they seem.
Educate yourself on child safety, which extends far beyond sleep: once your little one starts moving, they might ingest harmful substances, fall off bikes, or find countless other ways to put themselves in danger. Such is the journey of parenthood.
I won’t advise you to stop worrying. SIDS is a genuine threat, and constant anxiety might just be an inherent part of being a parent. The key is to maintain perspective. Car accidents are also a leading cause of fatalities for children and adults, yet we buckle up and drive carefully. If checking your child’s breathing via an app brings you peace, go ahead. And if you quietly peek into their crib to watch their chest rise and fall, that’s perfectly fine too.
Illustration by Sam Woolley.
