to wonder why motion sensor monitors are not more widely used?

[sausagelover]

Having read a little bit about keeping baby in your room or not and lots of people on thread are talking about SIDS... I wonder why motion sensor monitors (pad under the mattress detects breathing and alarms if no motion is detected) are not more commonly used and I think they must help to prevent SIDS?

We had one for dd, mainly because DH is a paramedic and having been called to several babies over the years, that he couldn't save, he wanted one for our baby, for peace of mind.

Ours only ever went off once, when dd rolled into the corner of the cot, I've never moved so fast in my life.

our floorboards used to do that pantone

I should also say that dd slept in our room until she was 6 months, and even 6 years later I still check on her in the night when I go to the loo, so the monitor was in addition to checking on her, not in place of.

oh go on sausagelover you know you want to - google us some links proving they prevent or reduce incidence of sids and are not another worthless gimmick exploiting new mums and their sleep deprived state of existence (obv 'my mate says' or 'I think' does not count - what research is there so far?)

sanfairyann - I am away to bed just now, can't really be bothered to look up any research just now. However I posted before - I genuinely don't understand how they can't help to reduce instances of SIDS?? For the 2 reasons I have already stated... if they stop breathing the alarm will either startle them and they will start breathing or it means that you are alerted to the situation straight away, giving the best chance of saving them. How is that a worthless gimmick and how can it not help?

Interesting timing here. We have one as I have a DS (2) with reflux and have read that it can cause sleep apnoea. Two different ones (a nappy one and then a mattress one - reasons too long to go into why we used two in four days) went off 4 times over the weekend. We were terrified as they seemed to be working fine and DS2 had not wriggled/detached the nappy one etc.. However, saw paediatrician yesterday, re the reflux, and her advice was just to turn it off as apnoea is rare! I'm really amazed - they may be unreliable but we had two different types go off with no explanation. I will carry on using it. I'd rather jump out of bed/into the lounge where he naps and find him breathing fine than spend the whole time checking him and not sleeping well.

sausagelover
I don't want to worry you but babies can and do die on monitors. The baby can carry on making gasping movements even though the airway is compromised. These movements make the machine click as if all is well, until it is too late.

They do reassure lots of parents, but I think if you use one or not, the issue is whether you know immediate first aid to help your baby if they need it.These courses can be hard to access in some areas.

We've got one for our dd (who was 10 wks prem) and it's given us a lot of reassurance.

Fleegle - yes I am sure that if baby was making gasping movements that will keep the monitor going for a short time until the airway is closed. However, you are STILL alerted to it quicker than if you don't have the monitor, therefore giving first aid a lot quicker than someone who doesn't have the monitor and sleeps through all that going on?

I am a first aider too btw

right defo off to bed now

Our dd was born 10weeks premature and was constantly monitored in hospital. When we left hospital it was weird not having her monitored,so after a few nights of watching her constantly we got one. ( the hospital said they were not necessary unless you had previously lost child through SIDS. They were loaned by hospital to such families).
Anyway ours has gone off on false alarms a few times. I like to see the reassuring flashing light at any time in the night.
Personally I think they're worth the money.

I think these machines are great if they reassure parents, and I am sure they do provide reassurance to many parents.

I don't think I would have been reassured by it, particularly. I co-slept and I was able to check that my baby was breathing any time I liked. I also fully believe I would have woken up straight away had anything been wrong. Like the time he somehow managed to get a towel wrapped around his head - it was wrapped quite tightly, but I was awake in an instant and removed it, his head wasn't warm and his breathing wasn't laboured at all, so I think I must have awoken the split second he did it. (God knows what a towel was doing in the bed in the first place... he was about 15 months old at the time though, past the age you worry about these things)

I don't think that the machines are helpful to all parents. I think in some cases they must exacerbate anxiety.

I think they should be available, but I think YABU to suggest everyone "should" use one.

I breast feed my baby and he's been sleeping in our bed since he was one week old, after my midwife suggested co-sleeping so we could all get some sleep. I thought about buying a monitor but didn't need it as he was sleeping next to me and waking up regularly for feeds. Oh, and most importantly, both me and my Dh, also my mum who stayed with us until DS was 1m.o. were very anxious, we kept a very close eye on his breathing all the time!

I co-slept with dd til she was 6 months old but still liked to use the monitor when she was napping during the day and I was in other parts of the house.

the sids website say there is no evidence to show they prevent cot death. My lo's were in the room with us unitl they were 7/8 months and had a normal monitor when they went into their own rooms:

Do movement (breathing) monitors prevent cot death?

There is no evidence that movement monitors (also known as apnoea or breathing monitors) prevent cot death. Babies can and do die whilst on a monitor. They are designed to sound an alarm after 20 seconds if they can?t detect a baby?s breathing movement. They cannot detect a blocked airway until breathing movements stop.

Ok that's the same argument that fleegle made above. No the monitor won't prevent your baby from stopping breathing, however it will alert you asap to it, allowing you to act. As opposed to sleeping through it.

We had one for dd, because she slept on her stomach. It was very annoying. I never remembered to switch it off so it went off every time I picked her up. Eventually ds chucked the receiver in the toilet and I was quite relieved (although a bit sad at the loss of $300).

Also, our's didn't work when the airconditioning was on, which was most of the time in the summer after dd was born.

But isn't part of the point that you are not meant to delegate your parenting to a machine?

If you parent your baby in the way that evolution intended - staying close to them, sleeping near them, getting tuned into their breathing - then according to the FSIDS research, that's a far more effective way of preventing cot death - and it enables you to keep abreast of all sorts of things that a monitor wouldn't pick up.

I can see that if you have a child who's prone to sleep apnoea or has had breathing problems, then they probably provide a valuable reassurance.

But for most healthy infants, why would a parent want to buy a machine to do that job when they can do it better and more reliably for themselves?

I still check on my DS before I go to bed etc, but I just sleep easier knowing the monitor is on. Because (god forbid) he were to stop breathing I would definitely want the monitor on. It's all to do with being alerted a hell of a lot quicker than if you were just checking on them intermittently - I don't see how the parent can do the job better and more reliably than the machine, the machine is constantly checking the breathing, the parent is not. Just because you have the monitor doesn't mean that you should never check on your child yourself.

And yes, I get that our instincts would probably alert us to a problem, but hey they might not and I don't want to risk it.

I agree sausagelover - dont think that they are widely recommended as not everyone can afford them. However, I am using them with my DD and it has def made me a bit more relaxed, though I do, of course, still check on her during the night. Have had no false alarms so far. We have a board underneath sensor.

DD was 12 weeks prem and for the last 5 weeks in hospital only had a breathing monitor because she had an NGtube for feeding. As soon as the NGtube was out, she didn't have the monitor. As it was, that was the day she came home, but that's by the by. If the hospital didn't feel the need for one, I decided it would only make me paranoid.

Interestingly enough, everyone is managing to agree that the monitor doesn't prevent problems, it just alerts you to them more quickly. But nobody has mentioned that being in the same room as an infant at all times when they are sleeping actually does have a protective effect against sleep apnoea (of a normal level in healthy newborns, but it has also been shown to improve outcomes with premature babies, e.g. twins in the same incubator, kangaroo care, etc). This applies for ALL sleeps, not just night time sleep.

I think it's sad that we don't trust our instincts, honed over millions of years, and we put our trust in a piece of machinery invented by humans not so long ago.

But I do understand that modern life gets in the way of instincts and I think if anything reassures parents and helps them relax, then that is a good thing. I just wonder whether over-reliance on something like this is ultimately helpful.

i have one on dd(14 months) cot, she wiggles about a bit but ive put it in the middle so it pretty much picks up all her movements, it has gone off a few times but i'd rather get up for a false alarm than not know she wasnt breathing .. i paid £55 for that one (tommee tippee) my local asda were selling them for £20 in the baby event so i have one for the new baby as well fo £35 cheaper than i budgeted

i get pnd usually, panic attacks about the baby dying so the moniter helps me get some sleep! i like the click as well on the downstairs part of the moniter so you canhear babys movements when you are downstairs..