MAKE SURE TO BUY A BABY MONITOR WITH BREATHING SENSOR

[Kaylie21]

As if i needed one more thing to worry about while expecting, my friend's 1 month old was rushed to the ER yesterday after he was not breathing while sleeping, she told me she got the notification on her phone from her baby monitor. I didn't even think to get a baby monitor with breathing sensor or that they exist! He's all fine now and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Anyways, needless to say i told her to send me the link and ordered mine. So just to let you all know to do the same bcs these type of products are a life saver.

And this too -- This is my point.

Your breathing helps regulate baby's breathing. It's believed it's also linked to CO2 levels of sleeping in the same room as well.

What @fairgame84 said. This is basic safe sleeping information that all parents should know and follow.

If you want one get one. But I think It would just cause me more stress

This too.

Also what @fairgame84 said

Each to their own. We both slept better for it. He slept through the night.

@fairgame84 thank you, I didn't know that! My DCs are in their 20s now though so that's possibly why.

This is exactly what we were advised too.

I'm gonna use it the first few weeks and see what happens, at least my mind will be at ease. If i see that it's causing more stress i'll just remove it. Thank you all for your help

The research about having the baby close for the first 6 months and sleeping in the same room is very clear. However the reasons for this are less clear.
One theory is that the baby’s breathing is more regulated with the parents.
I’ll post a screenshot below with more information.

my babies are teens now. We did follow the guidance. My theory is that there is lots of research about many subjects which I will never understand. But if the evidence is there and the guidance is reasonable and do-able then I would usually follow it.

This. I used a mat like the one OP has mentioned even though baby was in my room. As far as I’m concerned anything to help reduce to risk is best.

I had one with my eldest due to anxiety around SIDS and honestly, it was awful. It was so sensitive that there were constant false alarms which would frighten the hell out of us and just made us even more anxious. I didn't use it with my second - just a very basic audio monitor - and was much less anxious.

It only occurred to me afterwards that the breathing monitor can't actually prevent anything from happening, only notify you when it does. I agree with pps saying that being in the room with the baby while they sleep will reassure you far more than an alarm.

This is scaremongering, breathing monitors do not prevent SIDS.

Room sharing until at least 6 months is shown to be preventative but we don't yet know why. For a 1 month old definitely do not rely on a phone notification, they should be in the room with an adult. It could be air exchange, adult breathing noise regulating baby's breath or the sounds/movement in the room keeping baby in a lighter sleep - or a combination of these and/or something else.

All a breathing monitor can do is reassure you that the baby is fine, they can also cause unnecessary anxiety because of false alarms.

They used to think that a pause in breathing indicated a pre-SIDS event but this was disproven as a link. Regardless, many baby monitor companies use these claims in order to market their product, making parents worry that they are putting their baby at risk if they don't use it. Some of them use stories of baby loss to add to the emotive messaging. I think it's awful marketing, so predatory. PNA is already a risk, no need to add to it.

hi @Kaylie21 , sorry to hear about your friends scare but please - not even professionals recommend these . They can create anxious parents and lull parents into a false sense of security. I know people who have bought these and all that needs to happen is their baby moves away from
the monitor and the alarm sounds - they should be taken off the shelf. You can hear your baby breathing perfectly fine through a normal monitor.

@Kaylie21 do what you need to do. Please remember that these monitors do NOT prevent SIDS and should not replace safe sleep advice. If anything happens to your baby, an alarm won’t help. Follow safe sleep advice, ie sleep with them for 6 months, correct temp etc and remember these machines do not regulate their breathing and do not help them. If you think it will somehow make you less anxious then go for it

@Matleavemummy I understand your argument but i do not agree with you on 'If anything happens to your baby, an alarm won’t help' .Yes it's rare, but anything can happen. If DC were to stop breathing suddenly (not necessarily sids) you'd be notified and start CPR, potentially saving their lives.

Do you know how to do CPR on a baby?

@strumpert Of course i do, took a course inwhich that was included. Which i recommend to everyone who is expecting, it honestly should be compulsory :P

I have to admit that I used a clip on breathing monitor for DS - it hooked onto his nappy. I used it from when the cord dropped off until he became too wiggly at night (about 5 months, I think). He slept in the same room as us, but it gave me additional peace of mind that I would be awoken by the alarm if he stopped breathing. We had a couple of false alarms where is obviously came loose, but otherwise all fine. And, yes, DP and I both took a baby first aid course before he was born.

I've done it as part of first aid training hence why I asked.