

However, babies with heart problems tend to have other issues that you or your child's pediatrician would easily pick up on, such as lethargy, difficulty feeding, a bluish skin tone, or gasping.īut Dr. Fisher points out that SVT is an "unbelievably rare event" (she's had two patients with it in 16 years of practice). "That's why we're not super eager to say everybody should have this," she says.Īnd, for the record, Dr. That can be costly and invasive-even if everything seems fine to the doctor.
#OWLET RED ALARM LOW OXYGEN SERIES#
Fisher says that readings from these monitors can actually make doctors' jobs harder: If parents come into the ER and say that their baby had a bad reading but the baby seems otherwise healthy, doctors will typically do a series of tests to figure out what's going on. "Also, there are no good studies showing that the Owlet or these other monitors are beneficial. Kubiczek-Love says it can’t detect apnea, which is when a baby stops breathing for 20 or more seconds.īut the good news is that you probably don't need one anyway: "Most babies don't need something like this," Danelle Fisher, M.D., F.A.A.P., chair of pediatrics at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, tells SELF. And, although the Owlet may be able to track a baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels, Dr. “It is also extremely important for parents to understand that are not FDA-approved medical devices and are not for medical use,” she says. There's no evidence that using these devices regularly can prevent SIDS, Eva Kubiczek-Love, M.D., a pediatrician at the Cleveland Clinic Children's hospital, tells SELF. National Library of Medicine “But three resets later and it was still reading extremely high for an infant.”įor its part, the American Academy of Pediatrics also specifically states that “home cardiorespiratory monitors can be helpful for babies with breathing or heart problems, but they have not been found to reduce the risk of SIDS.” Similarly, a paper published in JAMA earlier this year argues that “there is no evidence that these consumer infant physiological monitors are lifesaving or even accurate, and these products may cause unnecessary fear, uncertainty, and self-doubt in parents." The paper’s authors also say that an abnormal reading could cause an over-diagnosis of an infant, which could spark a visit to the ER, followed by unnecessary blood tests and X-rays.

“We thought was a false alarm because it said his heart rate was reading 286,” Golinski says (the average infant heart rate for someone Bryce’s age is between 70 to 190 beats per minute, according to the U.S. Recently, they had a “very scary night” after the sock alerted them at 3 a.m. And, in a viral Facebook post, one dad says the Owlet helped save his son’s life.Īccording to Ryan Golinski’s post, he and his fiancé Kate bought the Owlet before their son Bryce was born in early July. Although it may seem excessive to some, others swear that using the devices gives them peace of mind when their baby is young and especially vulnerable.

And if you have a baby, you've probably also heard about baby wearables like Owlet Smart Sock, a $299.99 bootie that also tracks your baby's heart rate and oxygen levels while they sleep-and can alert parents if something seems off. It seems like everyone and their dog has an activity tracker these days.
