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takyon writes:

Wearable baby monitors that can send real time updates to smartphones are unregulated devices that may be causing stress and unnecessary hospital visits, according to an article published in JAMA:

Specifically, the authors cite the Baby Vida, MonBaby, Owlet, Snuza Pico, and Sprouting wearables, which cost anywhere from $150 to $300 each. The idea is that if you're in the next room over while your baby is napping, you can simply look at your phone for reassurance that your baby is still breathing without you staring at them.

The devices are not regulated by the FDA, researchers point out, and in order to stay that way (and presumably, also avoid problems with the Federal Trade Commission) they don't make specific claims about their ability to prevent sudden infant death or distress. Owlet, for example, says, "We can't promise to prevent SIDS right now, it's an unknown issue but... we believe notifying parents when something's wrong maybe can help." That's similar to Baby Vida, which states in its marketing, "What sound does your baby make if he or she stops breathing?"

New parents, often sleep-deprived and navigating a haze of contradictory advice from well-intentioned sources, are particularly susceptible to doing everything they can "just in case." "These devices are marketed aggressively to parents of healthy babies, promising peace of mind about their child's cardiorespiratory health," pediatrician Dr. Christopher P. Bonafide, with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said. "But there is no evidence that these consumer infant physiological monitors are life-saving or even accurate, and these products may cause unnecessary fear, uncertainty and self-doubt in parents."

For starters, the authors note that nobody actually knows if the apps even work properly. Wearable sensor tech may not be entirely accurate for adults, let alone kids. One blood pressure app, the authors write, inaccurately told nearly 80% of participants with hypertension that their blood pressure was in the normal range.

Also at CBS.

The Emerging Market of Smartphone-Integrated Infant Physiologic Monitors (DOI: 10.1001/jama.2016.19137) (DX)

Original Submission