MNHQ here: Owlet Baby Care and wearable tech for babies

[JustineBMumsnet]

Here at MNHQ we’re considering doing some work with Owlet (a brand that has developed a monitor that tracks a baby’s oxygen and heart rate using pulse oximetry. You can find out more by watching the below video).

Before going ahead we wanted to get your thoughts - is this the kind of thing you’d like to see on Mumsnet? And do you have any thoughts about this sort of 'wearable tech' for babies in general, and whether you think it's the sort of thing you'd like to see on Mumsnet? We’d love to hear what you have to say.

MNHQ

Is this level of monitoring recommended by midwives/paediatricians?

Hmm. I'm not a fan, and I think that this kind of medicalising of babies without any additional medical needs is unnecessary. I think it can exacerbate anxiety and undermine confidence in your parenting.

Having had both my children start off life in SCBU, I was desperate to get rid of all the monitors and devices and just have my baby well.

I was tempted by this but as PP have suggested, I knew it would massively exacerbate my anxiety. It's along the same lines as those dopplers you get for home. Part of early years parenting is learning to trust your instincts and you have to learn to have faith in yourself before your kid can put their faith in you when they are a little older.

also, the less pointless shit peddled at wasting new parents money the better.

Personally I'd be interested in it. I used the breathing monitor mat with my daughter and it was crap. Constantly set the alarm off by mistake.

I think it’s a silly idea and will play on people’s anxieties who are prone to worrying and probably make some less aware/neglectful eg they don’t need to check on baby as the monitor says they’re fine.

There is no way this is recommended by midwives or paediatricians unless there is underlying known conditions.

It's shameful that Mumsnet would consider partnering up with a company that makes these and sells them to anxious parents.

I really don't like owlet's marketing in the US. It really plays up the fear of sudden infant death which I think is irresponsible and some of their ads are really crass. Have you seen them? I think it's awful trying to profit from fear. Angelcare have been around for yonks and they don't do that (and I'm not keen on those monitors either).

It's profiting out of parent's fears.
Any non biased evidence this reduces SIDS? Any endorsement by medical professionals?

Even using a medical grade saturation monitor you are likely to get false alarms and need to be trained in using them and interpreting the results.

Unless people know exactly how to interpret what is going on and the reasons behind the readings then this type of thing is pointless and feels like a way of making money. As an a&e nurse, I would rather see any parent who had any concern about how their child looks/behaves/seems, no matter how small, rather than a parent who presents a load of numbers to me when they don’t know exactly what the numbers mean

I think it's totally unnecessary.

Absolutely not a fan of this idea.

I think it wouid be a very bad idea.

Agree with all of the above, it's an unnecessary product for new parents to cause further stress.

‘The best what to check your baby is ok’

This is utterly insane.

Show me the evidence base.

Of course some children need monitoring for clinical reasons but those will be children with care plans and equipment sourced through the NHS etc and under medical guidance.

For the average, healthy baby there is no need. How long until we see the tragedy stories like we do with people who bought a Doppler, didn't get checked out and lost their child? If you make what is essentially medical equipment widely available you invite stress, panic and ultimately you put the child at risk.

You can't waltz into a hospital and demand to have a brain scan because you fancy looking at it and you can't buy an mri scanner on the shelf in boots. Nor should you be able to buy dopplers, sats monitors etc. If a baby needs monitoring for clinical reasons then they need equipment that is regularly calibrated and tested from a medical supplier.

"Wearable tech for babies"

Don't associate your brand with these vultures that prey on anxious parents, MNHQ.

Really Mumsnet? Pulse oximetry has a place in hospitals and in homes when families have been advised by health professionals to use them. Otherwise peddling this kind of monitoring to anxious parents is abhorrent.

Phrases like 'wearable tech for babies' make me want to check whether it's April Fools Day.

I used the Snuza Hero and the Angelcare mat with my baby. I was so scared to fall asleep and these products gave me a chance to actually allow myself a chance to sleep. I loved them.

'Wearable tech for babies'?
😄
It's a no from me. Useful and appropriate for probably 2% of parents. Just needless expense and anxiety-fodder for the other 98%.

I'd love to see some more about this stuff. As an expectant first time parent (and gadget lover), I've bought a few similar things in preparation but there's so much out there, it's quite overwhelming to figure out which technologies to trust and what is actually just there to make money out of terrified parents.

I would be interested, we invested in an oxygen monitor for my second son after he had bronchiolitis and it really calmed me down.

Decidedly not a fan, for all the reasons PPs have stated. I see enough crippling anxiety about perfectly normal babies on these boards as it is.

You know how people are talking about an epidemic of anxiety, MNHQ? How much less safe and healthy does it make a baby to have a parent whose anxiety is being deliberately fostered by marketers and people like you who should know better?

Wearable tech for babies

What a depressing phrase