With Sudden Infant Death Syndrome being the leading cause of death in infants age one to 12 months, it’s no wonder some parents are scared to put their babies down to sleep.
It’s a scary condition that happens very quickly, and silently.
Baby monitors can help, but only to a certain degree.
Thankfully we live in the digital era where technology continues to help out lives much easier.
Now a new device can help assuage parents’ anxiety over SIDS and in the process, save their children’s lives.
“Owlet Baby Monitors uses pulse oximetry—a technology used in hospitals to measure an infant's heart rate and blood oxygen levels—and then streams the information to the parent's smartphone,” a CNBC report said.
The sensor is integrated in a baby sock which can be worn until a baby is 18 months.
The sock then sets off an alarm on a base station and flashes a red light if the baby's vital signs are in dangerously territory, which then alerts the parents.
Mom of four Amy Bongard believes that the Owlet saved her newborn’s life.
Born three weeks early, Grayson had just finished feeding one day when Amy looked down an noticed that he wasn't breathing.
"I picked him up just to see if a startle reflex would kick in, which it usually would, but his head was kind of cocked to the side and his arms and legs were really limp and he wouldn't move," she told CNBC.
"Finally after pushing on his chest about 20-25 times I got him to open his eyes and become alert again. I had to watch him the rest of the night."
The incident left her traumatized. Convinced that she wouldn't be able to rest easy until she found a solution, she did her homework and looked for things that could help.
She stumbled upon Owlet.
Although thankfully the alarm doesn’t go off for some parents, Amy’s case was different: already her device’s alarm already went off four times since she bought it.
"I was sleeping when the first alarm went off," she recalled.
"I had to shake him a little bit to get him to open his eyes and to get that startle reflex to sink in. I was really grateful that it went off and I was able to make sure he was OK.”
There are many brands of similar devices in the market, but for Dr. Milena Adamian, who has been in health care for 20 years, she considers Owlet one of the most promising.
“They were solving an incredibly needed problem that was addressing two markets — the consumers market and the health-care professionals market,” she said.
Meanwhile, Owlet has its own critics.
They claim that the device gives parents a false sense of security, and that it only aggravates parents’ anxiety every time an alarm goes off.
Amy begs to differ.
She claims that the device has given her a much-needed rest.
"I sleep much better now and there's definitely a peace of mind," Bongard said. "When I put that little sock on, I know he's going to be OK."
READ: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: SIDS causes and tips for prevention
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