# Does my baby need a monitor, and where does the AAP stand on wearable oxygen monitors?

> A basic audio or video monitor is a convenience, not a safety tool. Here is what the AAP and NIH say about heart, breathing and oxygen monitors and SIDS.

Source: https://actuallysleeping.net/guides/baby-monitors-and-wearable-monitors/
Publisher: Actually Sleeping LLC · Reviewed by Dr. Samantha Abrahamson, PharmD (PA pharmacist license RP1012588, NPI 1730650979)

An ordinary audio or video monitor is there for convenience; it is not a safety device. The AAP advises against using home cardiorespiratory monitors to lower SIDS risk, and the NIH Safe to Sleep campaign states that monitors tracking heart rate, breathing or motion do not effectively detect or prevent SIDS. What lowers risk is safe sleep practice. 

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## The AAP and NIH position 

According to the AAP’s 2022 recommendations, home cardiorespiratory monitors should not be used as a strategy for reducing SIDS risk. Its site for parents adds an equally important caution: these devices shouldn’t lull you into a false sense of security. The AAP likewise recommends against commercial devices marketed as reducing the risk of SIDS or other sleep-related deaths. 

The NIH Safe to Sleep campaign states that monitors tracking a baby’s heart, breathing or motion are not effective at detecting or preventing SIDS, and it does not recommend them as a way to lower that risk. 

## Common kinds of monitor  
| Type | What it does | Role in safety | 
|---|---|---|
| Audio | Lets you listen to your baby from a different room | Purely a convenience | 
| Video or Wi-Fi camera | Lets you watch and listen, often through your phone | Purely a convenience; watch the cord | 
| Movement pad or clip-on motion sensor | Sounds an alarm when it no longer picks up movement | Per NIH, not a way to lower SIDS risk | 
| Wearable sock or band with oxygen and heart rate | Sends readings to an app and alarms at certain values | Per AAP and NIH, not a way to lower SIDS risk | 
 

If hard nights are what has you browsing monitors, a new monitor won’t make those nights easier. Actually Sleeping tackles the reason your baby is waking, through a plan written specifically for your baby. 

## Research on consumer oxygen monitors 

In a 2018 _JAMA_ study, researchers compared two consumer pulse-oximetry baby monitors with a hospital monitor in 30 hospitalized infants aged 0 to 6 months. One of the consumer monitors failed to detect low oxygen at all. The second caught low oxygen in every infant who had it, yet sometimes displayed normal readings during those same episodes. The device that missed low oxygen also wrongly reported a low heart rate in 14 babies whose actual heart rate was normal. The authors advised caution about relying on these monitors’ data for medical decisions. 

Because products and software get updated, those specific findings may not hold for every model on the market now. The central lesson still holds: an app reading is not a diagnosis, and no monitor stands in for a safe sleep space. 

## False alarms and the toll on parents 

On its page about home apnea monitors, the AAP points out that these devices set off many false alarms, that the noise can leave parents overly worried and short on sleep, and that one study found parents of monitored infants felt more depressed. A device that keeps you up checking an app is costing your household sleep without reducing your baby’s risk. 

## Monitors prescribed by a doctor 

Occasionally a doctor recommends a home monitor for a particular medical reason, such as a baby on home oxygen or one with serious breathing problems. In that case it is a medical device used as part of a care plan, which is not the same thing as a consumer gadget bought for reassurance. If your baby spent time in the NICU or has a breathing condition, check with your pediatrician about whether monitoring is needed. 

## Using an everyday monitor safely  
- **Keep cords well clear of the crib.** The CPSC warns never to put corded cameras within three feet of a crib, since cords can strangle infants and toddlers. Mount the camera on a wall or a high shelf. 
- **The fundamentals are what protect your baby:** back to sleep, a firm, flat surface with nothing but a fitted sheet, room sharing for at least the first 6 months, no smoking, and no bed sharing. 
 

## A monitor shows you the waking; it can’t change it 

When nights get tough, lots of parents upgrade their monitor in the hope that more data will explain the wake-ups. A monitor can tell you your baby is awake. It can’t tell you the reason, and it can’t teach your baby to settle back to sleep. Babies who wake many times a night generally need help getting back to sleep between sleep cycles, and that piece can be fixed. That is the work Actually Sleeping does: Dr. Sam writes a plan for your baby, we coach you bootcamp-style before the first night, and we check in 1:1 every day. During a plan, a video monitor can actually help, since you can confirm your baby is safe and settling without opening the door. Parents talk about the difference in [our 129 client video reviews](https://actuallysleeping.net/reviews/). 

If you spend more time watching the monitor than sleeping, book a free consultation with Actually Sleeping. 

## More guides like this
- [Dressing your baby for sleep: layers, overheating and TOG ratings](https://actuallysleeping.net/guides/what-should-baby-wear-to-sleep/)
- [Blackout curtains and night lights: what does a baby need, and which colour?](https://actuallysleeping.net/guides/blackout-curtains-and-night-lights/)
- [White noise machines for babies: safety and the right volume](https://actuallysleeping.net/guides/white-noise-machine-safety-and-volume/)
- [Blanket, pillow or stuffed animal: when can a baby sleep with one?](https://actuallysleeping.net/guides/when-can-baby-sleep-with-blanket-pillow-or-lovey/)
- [Toddler keeps getting out of bed? How to fix it](https://actuallysleeping.net/guides/toddler-wont-stay-in-bed/)
 

## Ready to solve this for your own baby?

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## Common questions 

### Can a smart sock prevent SIDS?

No device can prevent SIDS. The AAP advises against using home cardiorespiratory monitors to lower SIDS risk, and NIH Safe to Sleep states that heart, breathing and motion monitors don’t effectively detect or prevent it. 

### Is a wearable oxygen monitor unsafe to use?

What concerns the AAP is false reassurance, where a parent loosens safe-sleep rules because a device is on. If you do use one, keep every safe-sleep practice in place, and bring any reading that worries you to your pediatrician. 

### Where is the right place for the baby monitor camera?

No closer than three feet from the crib, with cords kept out of reach. The CPSC cautions that camera cords placed too near a crib can strangle infants and toddlers. Mounting it on a wall or high shelf works well. 

### Our baby was in the NICU. Do we need a monitor at home?

Your baby’s doctors are the ones to answer that medical question. Sometimes they prescribe a home monitor for particular breathing or heart concerns. A consumer monitor ordered online doesn’t replace that decision.  

## References
1. [HealthyChildren.org (AAP). A Parent's Guide to Safe Sleep.](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/a-Parents-Guide-to-Safe-Sleep.aspx)
2. [American Academy of Pediatrics. AAP Updates Safe Sleep Recommendations: Back is Best. News release, 2022.](https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2022/american-academy-of-pediatrics-updates-safe-sleep-recommendations-back-is-best)
3. [Safe to Sleep campaign, NICHD (NIH). Ways to Reduce Baby's Risk.](https://safetosleep.nichd.nih.gov/reduce-risk/reduce)
4. [HealthyChildren.org (AAP). Home Apnea Monitors for SIDS.](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/Home-Apnea-Monitors-for-SIDs.aspx)
5. [Bonafide CP, et al. Accuracy of Pulse Oximetry-Based Home Baby Monitors. JAMA. 2018;320(7):717-719.](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2697685)
6. [U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Two Strangulation Deaths Prompt Recall of Video Baby Monitors with Cords. 2011.](https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2011/two-strangulation-deaths-prompt-summer-infant-to-recall-video-baby-monitors-with-cords)