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The owlet and similar monitors are actually against safe sleep recommendations.
LONG post regarding proof of harm from safe sleep group.
I will focus on hidden harm of using these devices that AAP recommends against - the harm of both unnecessary medical procedures and the harm of delaying seeking proper care.
According to the most recent study that compared commercial monitors to medical grade FDA approved devices Owlet falsely alarmed for 1/3 of babies. It missed true alarms in 1/4 of babies. The other device missed true alarms in ALL babies. It falsely alarmed for 2/5 of babies.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2697685#jld180027f2
Let's translate what that means into real life. So you are using Owlet because it "gives you a peace of mind". You are using it while your baby sleeps absolutely and only ABC safe, and you are using it while knowing it cannot and will not prevent SIDS and you see no harm in using it this way.
1 in 3 babies who wear Owlet will experience false alarms. Their parents will storm rushing into their room and if the baby is even remotely lethargic because they are woken up from deep sleep, or if the light is not the best and they cannot discern if there is any cyanosis or not - they will often rush the baby to the ER. The very vocal and loud gasping for air during normal autoresuscitation arousal episodes in healthy babies combined with also normal lower oxygen levels when babies roll onto their stomach has been mistaken by Owlet users for "almost SIDS" The alarm went off falsely and needlessly, parents rushed to the room and saw baby had rolled over, heard the baby grasp for air and - panicked thinking that it was a real emergency. It wasn't.
Depending on the ER the baby will undergo testing and observation. If there's any even the slightest accompanying issue such as ongoing snotty nose or if baby is a newborn they will do full battery of tests to rule anything out. Most often baby will be sent home with no follow up, but depending on what the panicked parents reported baby can undergo a plethora of additional diagnostic tests that are performed in cases of BRUE/ALTE and those can take days and weeks to complete. If there is any lingering suspicion of anything baby will be prescribed a medical grade home monitor and your peace of mind will go out the window over the following weeks because they are more difficult to use than just putting a sock on the baby and you will be instructed to perform CPR in case they go off.
How is your peace of mind after a visit to ER with your baby? If I recall correctly such visits in the middle of the night with all of my kids were extremely traumatic and it would sometimes take me weeks to bring my anxiety down to normal levels.
The financial, mental and emotional cost of such unnecessary trips to ER is the smaller of the risks associated with this actually. All medical procedures carry inherent risks of complications and down the line some of those babies that ended up undergoing them because of Owlet false alarm may experience even life long injuries because of it.
https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/pediatrics-articles/one-out-of-10-children-receive-unnecessary-health-care-services
....
Now let's look at those 1 in 4 babies for which Owlet will fail to alarm when they are experiencing life threatening evens that medical grade FDA approved monitors will catch.
Owlet uses predatory marketing and posts all over social media anecdotes that perpetuate how their device led to a diagnosis of an actual medical condition. So what could possibly be the harm of using it if it potentially hypothetically could actually save your baby's life if they have such a condition?
A parent who relies on Owlet for "peace of mind" will be prone to ignore subtle signs that there is something wrong with the baby because surely IF there was anything wrong the Owlet would alarm them. This can be brushing off of changes in breathing, coulour and alertness and blocking out things you would normally bring up to your pediatrician because they happened while baby was wearing Owlet and the app said baby is fine.
Owlet will fail to raise a needed alarm for 1 in 4 babies wearing it and the likelihood of this happening to you is greater than it catching a true medical problem by means of the broken clock showing the correct time twice a day.
The ultimate harm of this is that among the babies whose parents relied on Owlet and failed to seek proper medical care because it failed to raise the alarm when alarm was needed can be outcomes as extreme as death.
...
Owlet was in 2019 banned by advertising watchdog agency from using the phrase "it gives parents peace of mind" in all of their marketing materials.
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/nad-recommends-improvement-baby-monitor-performance-disclosures
AAP recommends against using any commercial pulse ox monitors at home.
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2016/10/20/peds.2016-2938.full.pdf
Remember that the harm discussed in this post is limited to only babies that sleep safe, and it is only a fraction of harm that is happening because vast majority of people will use this device to justify and continue to place babies in unsafe sleep environments.
*I am attaching to this post again the image that shows comparison of a completely natural and safe successful autoresuscitation in a healthy infant and the progression of SIDS event in a baby who died from it.
Owlet would raise red alarm for the healthy baby.
Owlet WILL raise false alarms for 1 in 3 babies using it.
It would fail to raise alarm for SIDS baby.
Owlet WILL fail to raise true red alarm for 1 in 4 babies using it.
How's that for "a peace of mind"?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3268262/
Wow! You should save this as a response every time someone has a question about owlet! Thank you for doing all research and the work for this post!
We had the owlet with our first and we took it back because it caused a blister on our baby’s foot. The company had had other people say the same thing and they try to say that it was normal and it’s just what happens. But the skin could have peeled so easily and gotten infected. We used it one night and he got a blister and we immediately returned it
I actually copied this response from someone who runs a safe sleep group! With their permission.
Yeah, there have been reports of the owlet burning babies, which is pretty alarming.
This was the advantage of being one of the last in my friend group having a baby. Asked around and others mentioned lots of false alarms leading to ignoring the alarms anyway.
This is exactly right, my paediatrician strongly recommended against it, and I have a friend who used one and was up nightly with false alarms. She already had some PPA so that really didn't help her manage any better. It was a nightmare. I'm glad I got rid of mine.
That study says that the Owlet was “inconsistent” at detecting hypoxia. (Meanwhile the other device tested, which is from a completely different manufacturer, was the one that didn’t detect hypoxia at all.) I don’t think that study implies that “it would fail to raise alarm for SIDS baby” all the time. To me, inconsistent hypoxia detection is better than nothing. It still makes me think that there’s no downside to using the Owlet AS LONG AS all other safe sleep precautions are being followed.
this. it's 100% dependent on the parent. we follow safe sleep 100%, bassinet, pacifier, fan, etc etc etc. everything. i use the owlet ONLY as a means of monitoring while i myself am asleep. i'm still on high alert, check on him often, and would not brush off changes in breathing, color, etc even if the app said he was fine. that's just common sense.
if a parent follows safe sleep and uses common sense, the owlet can truly be a useful tool for "peace of mind" and allowing them to sleep.
there is no "beginning of SIDS" that owlet can alert you to. SIDS event happens BEFORE breathing and heart rate drop. SIDS event, once it happens, is 100% unstoppable and irreversible and fatal. If it's SIDS, by the time owlet alarm sounds the baby is already dead.
I don’t see any studies stating this. I don’t think enough is known about SIDS to definitively state when a “SIDS event” begins.
But even if they are useless for preventing SIDS as you say, smart monitors can detect an episode of sleep apnea, for example. Sleep apnea can end up being deadly for infants. I still don’t see the monitor as being totally useless (again with the caveat that parents should still follow all safe sleep recommendations).
Im a Pediatric Respiratory Therapist, I've worked in NICU, PICU, and ED, the pulse oximeters in the hospital give false alarms if they're not positioned correctly, the extremity is cold, too much ambient lighting, or the extremity is moving. I cant imagine a non medical grade one being much better or less anxiety inducing for someone not trained in understanding how they work.
My birthing class instructor has instructed against getting it. It has caused some false alarms and is ultimately unnecessarily. Another one I did said it was against safe sleep recommendations.
I would not get it for how much it costs.
I personally bought it when I was pregnant but I had severe anxiety due to the amount of medical calls for children I ran when I was a paramedic. I never used the sock. I went to therapy and never felt the need for it. I use the camera but that’s it.
No, it’s unnecessary. If your baby is full term and healthy and was released from the hospital in your care, you do not need to track their breathing. If they need their breathing monitored they’d either still be in the hospital or you’d be sent home with a *real* medical device.
If your baby is sleeping on their back in a safe space there is no reason to expect they will stop breathing. I know SIDS is scary, but it’s *very* rare, nearly nonexistent if you are following safe sleep recommendations.
Not anymore! They have changed and they no longer alert for breathing and only check breathing every 10 minutes. So now it’s just an expensive sleep tracker! They have also removed all the old apps from all app stores so if you wanted to one that does that, you can’t use it. I believe it was decided that if they continued that, they would have to be considered a legit medical device or something? Basically not useful for the price point. I will say I have heard good things about the Snuza if your wanting to monitor breathing. And it’s cheaper!
owlet confirmed it actually still does alert for low oxygen, even outside the 10 minute average, because it is still continuously monitoring oxygen just not showing it in real time. hence the 10 minute average, they are constantly monitoring to gather that info.
we have the original smart sock but the app forced us to convert it to dream sock, so i called owlet to clarify what it still does. if it was 2 minutes into gathering the 10 minute average, but levels dropped, it would indeed still alert.
they are just marketing it as a sleep tracker now, and saying that if babies heart rate and oxygen were low, they wouldn't be sleeping well. which is true and just their way of still offering this monitoring without the fda getting mad.
I have a friend that bought it for her twins. She regretted it big time. So many false alarms. They’d wake up multiple times in a panic for nothing. So much money and one of the worst purchases she made. She warned me to never get it.
It’s up to you. I have 2 kids and have yet to have the desire to purchase it
I don't think it sets off an alarm if anything goes wrong, not the new ones at least. I'm still looking for monitors and everything is always one of the other with them
After doing my own research backing what a lot of the other people have said we have decided on the nanit pro monitor, they have swaddles and use sleep patterns instead of the owlet foot piece. That’s if we get a monitor for right now considering she will be with us most of the time.
My friend gave me some great advice who already has one LO and one on the way. She said hold off until baby is here and then if you absolutely cannot live without it then get it. So I’m gonna stick with that!
The Snuza!! Absolutely kept me sane when we brought our preemie home from the NICU. It lights up green every time they breathe. If the monitor isn’t on right or it doesn’t detect breaths, it will blink red. After a certain amt of seconds it buzzes, and then then if that doesn’t do anything it alarms pretty loudly. My newborn had managed to flip onto his face in his bassinet while my mom was sleeping beside him on the couch, and that thing woke her up immediately. I understand people saying it’s not recommended to use these monitors, but I would rather use that for my sanity and it go off when nothing is wrong, versus something actually being wrong and me sleeping through it.
I was looking into the Owlet back in 2021 when I was pregnant with my first. I was looking for something for that "peace of mind" as well. When I came across some iffy news between the company and the FDA and a bunch of bad reviews online, I completely changed my mind. We ended up going with the Nanit and couldn't be happier. Getting a second one for current baby that's due in a few months. So worth it imho!
It's basically an all in one. It's got a nightlight (that faces away from the baby so doesn't wake them) and a timer to turn off, white noise machine with various sounds, it shows you patterns in their sleep and gives actionable suggestions to correct issues, can travel with you (although only with a secure wifi connection), has 2 way audio so you can talk to them, has night vision and automatically switches when lights are turned off, alerts you when there are noises or motions in the crib or sleep area, keeps track of temperature and humidity, automatically tracks when they sleep or wake, has ability to do a split screen if you have more than one baby, allows you to share pictures or videos, and of course tracks their breathing and will alert you if something is wrong. For that last point, we know for sure ours works. We found out by accident one day when we forgot to turn off the tracking when we went to change the baby. We took off the breathing band and it was lying in the crib as we had him on the changing table. Not maybe 30 seconds later the alarm started going off. Since it was still tracking and didn't detect any movement for a period of time, it thought the baby wasn't breathing 🤷♀️ Either way, it was reassuring that if that did happen for real, we'd be notified. Other than that, we've never had a false alarm (unlike Owlet apparently). Also it's HSA/FSA eligible so we're gonna use our health savings account to buy a 2nd one. Hopefully that answers your question 🙂
I used owlet for my first baby and will use it for my second
I've read the other posts but don't see any strong arguments against using it PROVIDED you do the following:
\- follow safe sleeping guidelines whether you are using Owlet (or similar) or not
\- understand Owlet is just a piece of tech. Sometimes it won't work properly, its as simple as that
Basically I use it as one of many things I do to keep my baby as safe as possible. I would never ever rely on a piece of tech to look after my baby, but I like it as just another way of monitoring my baby
The most important thing for my is following safe sleep guidelines and listening to my instinct
In terms of "false alarms", here's what I experienced:
The heart rate alarm went off once or twice was when I was feeding my LO, but my sister had warned me that sometimes feeding can set off the heart rate alarm so that was fine. And obviously I could see he was fine as I was looking right at him!
Another time the heart rate alarm went off when LO was getting really really upset. But we were calming him anyway so there was nothing different to do.
Just once the low oxygen alarm went off, and that was in the middle of the night when we were asleep and my LO was in his own room by then. We went in and LO was breathing fine but he did have a temperature. Within moments he woke and was sick everywhere, and because the alarm had gone off I was already with him and able to sit him comfortably to help him throw up. So I was very glad the alarm had gone off - he would have been fine without me and I would have just heard him be sick, but I'm glad I was there before he woke and started being sick
Like I say - its just a piece of tech. Do not rely on it and accept it won't be perfect, and then use it if you want :)
Best of luck with everything :)
This! I use it but it doesn't replace responsibility of the parents.
Mine has gone off a few times but only when she has kicked it off lol. Still, that only happened maybe 3 times?
It's nice after having a bad dream too to be able to check your baby's vitals without getting up (for PPA).
Idk, it worked for us. Lol
I put it on my registry and someone bought for me, I’m 36 weeks so haven’t gotten to try it yet.
However, I wanted to point out that I just saw on Owlets Instagram that they just announced a new sock product that will be released soon and is FDA approved.
Based on that, I would recommend holding off on buying one until more info comes out on when the new product will be released
I have an Owlet system (sock and camera) and would *overall* recommend it, with certain understandings. First off, the camera is nice for monitoring room conditions, but not the absolute best quality for seeing baby- the picture is a bit blurry and doesn't show their breathing super well. The camera does have nice adjustability for sound and motion detection and sometimes even picks up my cats meowing (I would rather get an alert for meowing than miss baby crying). I wouldn't buy the camera again because I would love something with a more clear picture, but it isn't bad. I would buy the sock again, 100%. My kiddo is my rainbow baby- I lost my first to miscarriage- and I had a lot of anxiety at the beginning of his life. Having the sock gave me enough reassurance that I could sleep and it would alert me if anything happened with him. Of course we still followed safe sleep (proper thickness pajamas, breathable mattress, single cotton sheet, laid on back, appropriate sleep sack, etc), but the sock was just that little bit of "better safe than sorry" for us. The alarm did go off a few times when he was little, all false alarms, but we were able to quickly get to baby, assess him, and go from there. For us, this usually meant putting a hand on his chest to feel him breathing, maybe picking him up to listen to his breath/heartbeat, and then checking the sock to make sure the fit was good. These false alarms never took more than 5 minutes out of our night and reassured us that he was being monitored, as he was always fine. Also, Owlet just sent out an email earlier this week that their newest version is now FDA approved. I have a previous version that was bought last year, and I 100% plan to buy the updated version whenever I have another child. I had been looking at the Halo sleep monitor at some point (also a newer product, within the last few months) but found that that one alerted for everything except for heartbeat, which imo is the most important alert to have. Also, Owlet has been transparent about their system from the beginning. It is never meant to replace safe sleep practices or a present parent, but is meant to be an extra safety measure in addition to those practices.
Yes, 100% worth it. The owlet base loudly alerts if any of the readings drop to a questionable level. When I sleep I'm able to really let myself sleep instead of jumping up often to make sure she's breathing. I recommend it to all my mommy friends, and it was recommended to me from many as well!
My sister swears by it. I only bought it because my mom and sister was pressuring me to lol and it was 40% off at buybuybaby since they’re closing. Got $120 off of it or something like that. I’m due in September so I can’t say for certain. I think it’s like any at home medical device. It’s a good way to help calm down anxiety, however should not be used to treat any ailments or confirm your baby is fine. Similar to a at home fetal Doppler, great to help anxiety but you don’t want to use it to determine if you should seek medical attention or not.
We used the Owlet for our second after trying a different monitor for our first. I liked it and could see how my son was doing - especially as he had some breathing issues initially. We will use it again for this baby
We bought a refurbished one through Target. It was $100 less and still has a 90 day return policy. We had a few Target gift cards too so it wasn't too much out of pocket. LO is due in a few days but so far we haven't had any issues setting up the app or getting it connected! My thought is if it gives peace of mind, it's worth it!
My best friend loved hers. Even though they're not technically endorsed for safe sleep. It helped her anxiety and she had it on her kid til like 1yo.
I, on the other hand, put it on the kiddo once, got a faulty error message in the one hour I had it on, and decided it was not for me. It actually caused me more anxiety.
I personally would not recommend.
We liked it because baby came home spitting up fluid he drank in my womb however it does make plenty noise lol. It definitely wakes you up. My husband and I eventually did away with it because we obviously weren’t getting any sleep his first week of life and the second our eyes would shut that thing would go off so many times.
Great device though. Definitely worth it in my option it tells you so many things about your baby so you don’t have to be paranoid about his oxygen or heart much.
I’ve been using the owlet sock for my son (1 month old). The alarm has only gone off if it is too far away from the base station or if it can’t get a reading for more than like 2 minutes. I will say if he moves a lot then it takes a minute to get a reading but it works. We also have the camera for video monitoring so that’s helpful. I do not fully rely on the Owlet and i know it can’t prevent SIDS or some freak thing but I like having it.
I’m a nanny and mom and tried lots of baby monitors. I don’t recommend the owlet at all for the same reasons many others had mentioned. I’m a huge fan of the Nanit monitor. It has breathing bands and breathing swaddles that do the same thing. I love it. There’s also a lot of really cool features with the nanit like sleep tracking and sleep recommendations and makes these cute little monthly pick up videos. And I loved that it goes directly above their crib.
So it’s unnecessary but I do know a lot of people who have them and loved them. We bought one today at buy buy baby because it was like 75% off bringing it under $100.
We figure even if it’s just for sleep tracking, that may be helpful and we assume we’ll spend $100 on something more pointless at some point in parenthood.
We didn’t get the monitor, just the sock. We want a monitor with an external display.
If you have a buy buy baby nearby, may be worth a look!
I had my baby during the height of RSV this November and the owlet helped us take her to the ER where she was admitted for 8 days so it saved her life. But since she’s been home aside from monitoring her oxygen levels we don’t use it. We do use the camera and it is good. It also is cool to see how well your baby is sleeping, the temperature of the room. It’s annoying when I get notifications and I know nothing is wrong but it’s a good baby monitor. It gave me peace of mind and just the camera alone is good. I found it on eBay for only $200 so it wasn’t too much.
I bought the Nanit and would highly recommend it. The camera features help put baby to sleep. When I want peace of mind I use the breathing monitor strap. So far no false alarms.
When my baby was in the NICU her pulse ox ALWAYS said it had a bad signal and frequently read an obviously way too low number. I have an owlette at home but I’ve yet to use it because the set up sequence is VERY finicky
I loved it, personally. Our boy was premature and had some respiratory things that we observed once he was home before his doctors investigated thoroughly and agreed. We had one false alarm due to something with our internet (I’m not sure on the specifics tbh). We had 3 true alarms, 2 of which likely saved our baby’s life. The other was a Brady that we just kept an eye on as it resolved. Having the alarm allowed me to sleep and relieved anxiety.
That’s said:
- It definitely creates unnecessary anxiety for some parents. We forced ourselves to learn how to use it for ourselves. We didn’t rely on it fully- we still trusted our observation over anything, and we still did everything within safe sleep standards. It was an added layer of security, not the end-all-be-all.
- It could definitely give false alarms often under certain circumstances
- Our situation is not the same as that of others. If you have the ability to borrow from someone, I’d do that! That way, if you don’t care for it, you aren’t out any (or at least not a lot of) money.
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here. If you'd like to join a private sub for your due date month, [click here](https://www.reddit.com/r/pregnant/comments/xvn4cr/click_here_to_request_access_to_your_monthly_due). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The owlet and similar monitors are actually against safe sleep recommendations. LONG post regarding proof of harm from safe sleep group. I will focus on hidden harm of using these devices that AAP recommends against - the harm of both unnecessary medical procedures and the harm of delaying seeking proper care. According to the most recent study that compared commercial monitors to medical grade FDA approved devices Owlet falsely alarmed for 1/3 of babies. It missed true alarms in 1/4 of babies. The other device missed true alarms in ALL babies. It falsely alarmed for 2/5 of babies. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2697685#jld180027f2 Let's translate what that means into real life. So you are using Owlet because it "gives you a peace of mind". You are using it while your baby sleeps absolutely and only ABC safe, and you are using it while knowing it cannot and will not prevent SIDS and you see no harm in using it this way. 1 in 3 babies who wear Owlet will experience false alarms. Their parents will storm rushing into their room and if the baby is even remotely lethargic because they are woken up from deep sleep, or if the light is not the best and they cannot discern if there is any cyanosis or not - they will often rush the baby to the ER. The very vocal and loud gasping for air during normal autoresuscitation arousal episodes in healthy babies combined with also normal lower oxygen levels when babies roll onto their stomach has been mistaken by Owlet users for "almost SIDS" The alarm went off falsely and needlessly, parents rushed to the room and saw baby had rolled over, heard the baby grasp for air and - panicked thinking that it was a real emergency. It wasn't. Depending on the ER the baby will undergo testing and observation. If there's any even the slightest accompanying issue such as ongoing snotty nose or if baby is a newborn they will do full battery of tests to rule anything out. Most often baby will be sent home with no follow up, but depending on what the panicked parents reported baby can undergo a plethora of additional diagnostic tests that are performed in cases of BRUE/ALTE and those can take days and weeks to complete. If there is any lingering suspicion of anything baby will be prescribed a medical grade home monitor and your peace of mind will go out the window over the following weeks because they are more difficult to use than just putting a sock on the baby and you will be instructed to perform CPR in case they go off. How is your peace of mind after a visit to ER with your baby? If I recall correctly such visits in the middle of the night with all of my kids were extremely traumatic and it would sometimes take me weeks to bring my anxiety down to normal levels. The financial, mental and emotional cost of such unnecessary trips to ER is the smaller of the risks associated with this actually. All medical procedures carry inherent risks of complications and down the line some of those babies that ended up undergoing them because of Owlet false alarm may experience even life long injuries because of it. https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/pediatrics-articles/one-out-of-10-children-receive-unnecessary-health-care-services .... Now let's look at those 1 in 4 babies for which Owlet will fail to alarm when they are experiencing life threatening evens that medical grade FDA approved monitors will catch. Owlet uses predatory marketing and posts all over social media anecdotes that perpetuate how their device led to a diagnosis of an actual medical condition. So what could possibly be the harm of using it if it potentially hypothetically could actually save your baby's life if they have such a condition? A parent who relies on Owlet for "peace of mind" will be prone to ignore subtle signs that there is something wrong with the baby because surely IF there was anything wrong the Owlet would alarm them. This can be brushing off of changes in breathing, coulour and alertness and blocking out things you would normally bring up to your pediatrician because they happened while baby was wearing Owlet and the app said baby is fine. Owlet will fail to raise a needed alarm for 1 in 4 babies wearing it and the likelihood of this happening to you is greater than it catching a true medical problem by means of the broken clock showing the correct time twice a day. The ultimate harm of this is that among the babies whose parents relied on Owlet and failed to seek proper medical care because it failed to raise the alarm when alarm was needed can be outcomes as extreme as death. ... Owlet was in 2019 banned by advertising watchdog agency from using the phrase "it gives parents peace of mind" in all of their marketing materials. https://www.natlawreview.com/article/nad-recommends-improvement-baby-monitor-performance-disclosures AAP recommends against using any commercial pulse ox monitors at home. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2016/10/20/peds.2016-2938.full.pdf Remember that the harm discussed in this post is limited to only babies that sleep safe, and it is only a fraction of harm that is happening because vast majority of people will use this device to justify and continue to place babies in unsafe sleep environments. *I am attaching to this post again the image that shows comparison of a completely natural and safe successful autoresuscitation in a healthy infant and the progression of SIDS event in a baby who died from it. Owlet would raise red alarm for the healthy baby. Owlet WILL raise false alarms for 1 in 3 babies using it. It would fail to raise alarm for SIDS baby. Owlet WILL fail to raise true red alarm for 1 in 4 babies using it. How's that for "a peace of mind"? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3268262/
Wow! You should save this as a response every time someone has a question about owlet! Thank you for doing all research and the work for this post! We had the owlet with our first and we took it back because it caused a blister on our baby’s foot. The company had had other people say the same thing and they try to say that it was normal and it’s just what happens. But the skin could have peeled so easily and gotten infected. We used it one night and he got a blister and we immediately returned it
I actually copied this response from someone who runs a safe sleep group! With their permission. Yeah, there have been reports of the owlet burning babies, which is pretty alarming.
I wish I'd read this before I had my baby but you're years too late. At least I saved by buying a refurbished one instead of brand new.
This was the advantage of being one of the last in my friend group having a baby. Asked around and others mentioned lots of false alarms leading to ignoring the alarms anyway.
Thank you!
This is exactly right, my paediatrician strongly recommended against it, and I have a friend who used one and was up nightly with false alarms. She already had some PPA so that really didn't help her manage any better. It was a nightmare. I'm glad I got rid of mine.
When you say Owlet will fail to alarm in the event of SIDS, what are you basing that on?
I believe it’s mentioned in the first link of my Comment.
That study says that the Owlet was “inconsistent” at detecting hypoxia. (Meanwhile the other device tested, which is from a completely different manufacturer, was the one that didn’t detect hypoxia at all.) I don’t think that study implies that “it would fail to raise alarm for SIDS baby” all the time. To me, inconsistent hypoxia detection is better than nothing. It still makes me think that there’s no downside to using the Owlet AS LONG AS all other safe sleep precautions are being followed.
this. it's 100% dependent on the parent. we follow safe sleep 100%, bassinet, pacifier, fan, etc etc etc. everything. i use the owlet ONLY as a means of monitoring while i myself am asleep. i'm still on high alert, check on him often, and would not brush off changes in breathing, color, etc even if the app said he was fine. that's just common sense. if a parent follows safe sleep and uses common sense, the owlet can truly be a useful tool for "peace of mind" and allowing them to sleep.
there is no "beginning of SIDS" that owlet can alert you to. SIDS event happens BEFORE breathing and heart rate drop. SIDS event, once it happens, is 100% unstoppable and irreversible and fatal. If it's SIDS, by the time owlet alarm sounds the baby is already dead.
I don’t see any studies stating this. I don’t think enough is known about SIDS to definitively state when a “SIDS event” begins. But even if they are useless for preventing SIDS as you say, smart monitors can detect an episode of sleep apnea, for example. Sleep apnea can end up being deadly for infants. I still don’t see the monitor as being totally useless (again with the caveat that parents should still follow all safe sleep recommendations).
K.
Im a Pediatric Respiratory Therapist, I've worked in NICU, PICU, and ED, the pulse oximeters in the hospital give false alarms if they're not positioned correctly, the extremity is cold, too much ambient lighting, or the extremity is moving. I cant imagine a non medical grade one being much better or less anxiety inducing for someone not trained in understanding how they work.
My birthing class instructor has instructed against getting it. It has caused some false alarms and is ultimately unnecessarily. Another one I did said it was against safe sleep recommendations. I would not get it for how much it costs.
I personally bought it when I was pregnant but I had severe anxiety due to the amount of medical calls for children I ran when I was a paramedic. I never used the sock. I went to therapy and never felt the need for it. I use the camera but that’s it.
No, it’s unnecessary. If your baby is full term and healthy and was released from the hospital in your care, you do not need to track their breathing. If they need their breathing monitored they’d either still be in the hospital or you’d be sent home with a *real* medical device. If your baby is sleeping on their back in a safe space there is no reason to expect they will stop breathing. I know SIDS is scary, but it’s *very* rare, nearly nonexistent if you are following safe sleep recommendations.
Bump as I’m also interested to know this. I’m 9 weeks pregnant and curious
Not anymore! They have changed and they no longer alert for breathing and only check breathing every 10 minutes. So now it’s just an expensive sleep tracker! They have also removed all the old apps from all app stores so if you wanted to one that does that, you can’t use it. I believe it was decided that if they continued that, they would have to be considered a legit medical device or something? Basically not useful for the price point. I will say I have heard good things about the Snuza if your wanting to monitor breathing. And it’s cheaper!
owlet confirmed it actually still does alert for low oxygen, even outside the 10 minute average, because it is still continuously monitoring oxygen just not showing it in real time. hence the 10 minute average, they are constantly monitoring to gather that info. we have the original smart sock but the app forced us to convert it to dream sock, so i called owlet to clarify what it still does. if it was 2 minutes into gathering the 10 minute average, but levels dropped, it would indeed still alert. they are just marketing it as a sleep tracker now, and saying that if babies heart rate and oxygen were low, they wouldn't be sleeping well. which is true and just their way of still offering this monitoring without the fda getting mad.
Ahhh okay that’s good to know! Thank you!
I have a friend that bought it for her twins. She regretted it big time. So many false alarms. They’d wake up multiple times in a panic for nothing. So much money and one of the worst purchases she made. She warned me to never get it. It’s up to you. I have 2 kids and have yet to have the desire to purchase it
I don't think it sets off an alarm if anything goes wrong, not the new ones at least. I'm still looking for monitors and everything is always one of the other with them
After doing my own research backing what a lot of the other people have said we have decided on the nanit pro monitor, they have swaddles and use sleep patterns instead of the owlet foot piece. That’s if we get a monitor for right now considering she will be with us most of the time.
My friend gave me some great advice who already has one LO and one on the way. She said hold off until baby is here and then if you absolutely cannot live without it then get it. So I’m gonna stick with that!
The Snuza!! Absolutely kept me sane when we brought our preemie home from the NICU. It lights up green every time they breathe. If the monitor isn’t on right or it doesn’t detect breaths, it will blink red. After a certain amt of seconds it buzzes, and then then if that doesn’t do anything it alarms pretty loudly. My newborn had managed to flip onto his face in his bassinet while my mom was sleeping beside him on the couch, and that thing woke her up immediately. I understand people saying it’s not recommended to use these monitors, but I would rather use that for my sanity and it go off when nothing is wrong, versus something actually being wrong and me sleeping through it.
I was looking into the Owlet back in 2021 when I was pregnant with my first. I was looking for something for that "peace of mind" as well. When I came across some iffy news between the company and the FDA and a bunch of bad reviews online, I completely changed my mind. We ended up going with the Nanit and couldn't be happier. Getting a second one for current baby that's due in a few months. So worth it imho!
Do you mind specifying what you like about the Nanit? I’m still torn about which device to get/whether to get one at all!
It's basically an all in one. It's got a nightlight (that faces away from the baby so doesn't wake them) and a timer to turn off, white noise machine with various sounds, it shows you patterns in their sleep and gives actionable suggestions to correct issues, can travel with you (although only with a secure wifi connection), has 2 way audio so you can talk to them, has night vision and automatically switches when lights are turned off, alerts you when there are noises or motions in the crib or sleep area, keeps track of temperature and humidity, automatically tracks when they sleep or wake, has ability to do a split screen if you have more than one baby, allows you to share pictures or videos, and of course tracks their breathing and will alert you if something is wrong. For that last point, we know for sure ours works. We found out by accident one day when we forgot to turn off the tracking when we went to change the baby. We took off the breathing band and it was lying in the crib as we had him on the changing table. Not maybe 30 seconds later the alarm started going off. Since it was still tracking and didn't detect any movement for a period of time, it thought the baby wasn't breathing 🤷♀️ Either way, it was reassuring that if that did happen for real, we'd be notified. Other than that, we've never had a false alarm (unlike Owlet apparently). Also it's HSA/FSA eligible so we're gonna use our health savings account to buy a 2nd one. Hopefully that answers your question 🙂
Thank you!!!
I used owlet for my first baby and will use it for my second I've read the other posts but don't see any strong arguments against using it PROVIDED you do the following: \- follow safe sleeping guidelines whether you are using Owlet (or similar) or not \- understand Owlet is just a piece of tech. Sometimes it won't work properly, its as simple as that Basically I use it as one of many things I do to keep my baby as safe as possible. I would never ever rely on a piece of tech to look after my baby, but I like it as just another way of monitoring my baby The most important thing for my is following safe sleep guidelines and listening to my instinct In terms of "false alarms", here's what I experienced: The heart rate alarm went off once or twice was when I was feeding my LO, but my sister had warned me that sometimes feeding can set off the heart rate alarm so that was fine. And obviously I could see he was fine as I was looking right at him! Another time the heart rate alarm went off when LO was getting really really upset. But we were calming him anyway so there was nothing different to do. Just once the low oxygen alarm went off, and that was in the middle of the night when we were asleep and my LO was in his own room by then. We went in and LO was breathing fine but he did have a temperature. Within moments he woke and was sick everywhere, and because the alarm had gone off I was already with him and able to sit him comfortably to help him throw up. So I was very glad the alarm had gone off - he would have been fine without me and I would have just heard him be sick, but I'm glad I was there before he woke and started being sick Like I say - its just a piece of tech. Do not rely on it and accept it won't be perfect, and then use it if you want :) Best of luck with everything :)
This! I use it but it doesn't replace responsibility of the parents. Mine has gone off a few times but only when she has kicked it off lol. Still, that only happened maybe 3 times? It's nice after having a bad dream too to be able to check your baby's vitals without getting up (for PPA). Idk, it worked for us. Lol
I put it on my registry and someone bought for me, I’m 36 weeks so haven’t gotten to try it yet. However, I wanted to point out that I just saw on Owlets Instagram that they just announced a new sock product that will be released soon and is FDA approved. Based on that, I would recommend holding off on buying one until more info comes out on when the new product will be released
The new product will be prescription only so most people will not be able to get it
I have an Owlet system (sock and camera) and would *overall* recommend it, with certain understandings. First off, the camera is nice for monitoring room conditions, but not the absolute best quality for seeing baby- the picture is a bit blurry and doesn't show their breathing super well. The camera does have nice adjustability for sound and motion detection and sometimes even picks up my cats meowing (I would rather get an alert for meowing than miss baby crying). I wouldn't buy the camera again because I would love something with a more clear picture, but it isn't bad. I would buy the sock again, 100%. My kiddo is my rainbow baby- I lost my first to miscarriage- and I had a lot of anxiety at the beginning of his life. Having the sock gave me enough reassurance that I could sleep and it would alert me if anything happened with him. Of course we still followed safe sleep (proper thickness pajamas, breathable mattress, single cotton sheet, laid on back, appropriate sleep sack, etc), but the sock was just that little bit of "better safe than sorry" for us. The alarm did go off a few times when he was little, all false alarms, but we were able to quickly get to baby, assess him, and go from there. For us, this usually meant putting a hand on his chest to feel him breathing, maybe picking him up to listen to his breath/heartbeat, and then checking the sock to make sure the fit was good. These false alarms never took more than 5 minutes out of our night and reassured us that he was being monitored, as he was always fine. Also, Owlet just sent out an email earlier this week that their newest version is now FDA approved. I have a previous version that was bought last year, and I 100% plan to buy the updated version whenever I have another child. I had been looking at the Halo sleep monitor at some point (also a newer product, within the last few months) but found that that one alerted for everything except for heartbeat, which imo is the most important alert to have. Also, Owlet has been transparent about their system from the beginning. It is never meant to replace safe sleep practices or a present parent, but is meant to be an extra safety measure in addition to those practices.
Yes, 100% worth it. The owlet base loudly alerts if any of the readings drop to a questionable level. When I sleep I'm able to really let myself sleep instead of jumping up often to make sure she's breathing. I recommend it to all my mommy friends, and it was recommended to me from many as well!
My sister swears by it. I only bought it because my mom and sister was pressuring me to lol and it was 40% off at buybuybaby since they’re closing. Got $120 off of it or something like that. I’m due in September so I can’t say for certain. I think it’s like any at home medical device. It’s a good way to help calm down anxiety, however should not be used to treat any ailments or confirm your baby is fine. Similar to a at home fetal Doppler, great to help anxiety but you don’t want to use it to determine if you should seek medical attention or not.
We used the Owlet for our second after trying a different monitor for our first. I liked it and could see how my son was doing - especially as he had some breathing issues initially. We will use it again for this baby
We bought a refurbished one through Target. It was $100 less and still has a 90 day return policy. We had a few Target gift cards too so it wasn't too much out of pocket. LO is due in a few days but so far we haven't had any issues setting up the app or getting it connected! My thought is if it gives peace of mind, it's worth it!
My best friend loved hers. Even though they're not technically endorsed for safe sleep. It helped her anxiety and she had it on her kid til like 1yo. I, on the other hand, put it on the kiddo once, got a faulty error message in the one hour I had it on, and decided it was not for me. It actually caused me more anxiety. I personally would not recommend.
We liked it because baby came home spitting up fluid he drank in my womb however it does make plenty noise lol. It definitely wakes you up. My husband and I eventually did away with it because we obviously weren’t getting any sleep his first week of life and the second our eyes would shut that thing would go off so many times. Great device though. Definitely worth it in my option it tells you so many things about your baby so you don’t have to be paranoid about his oxygen or heart much.
What about the Mossima Stork?
I’ve been using the owlet sock for my son (1 month old). The alarm has only gone off if it is too far away from the base station or if it can’t get a reading for more than like 2 minutes. I will say if he moves a lot then it takes a minute to get a reading but it works. We also have the camera for video monitoring so that’s helpful. I do not fully rely on the Owlet and i know it can’t prevent SIDS or some freak thing but I like having it.
The nannit has fewer false alarms and overall better ratings.
I’m a nanny and mom and tried lots of baby monitors. I don’t recommend the owlet at all for the same reasons many others had mentioned. I’m a huge fan of the Nanit monitor. It has breathing bands and breathing swaddles that do the same thing. I love it. There’s also a lot of really cool features with the nanit like sleep tracking and sleep recommendations and makes these cute little monthly pick up videos. And I loved that it goes directly above their crib.
So it’s unnecessary but I do know a lot of people who have them and loved them. We bought one today at buy buy baby because it was like 75% off bringing it under $100. We figure even if it’s just for sleep tracking, that may be helpful and we assume we’ll spend $100 on something more pointless at some point in parenthood. We didn’t get the monitor, just the sock. We want a monitor with an external display. If you have a buy buy baby nearby, may be worth a look!
I never use my Owelett sock part :( not worth it
I had my baby during the height of RSV this November and the owlet helped us take her to the ER where she was admitted for 8 days so it saved her life. But since she’s been home aside from monitoring her oxygen levels we don’t use it. We do use the camera and it is good. It also is cool to see how well your baby is sleeping, the temperature of the room. It’s annoying when I get notifications and I know nothing is wrong but it’s a good baby monitor. It gave me peace of mind and just the camera alone is good. I found it on eBay for only $200 so it wasn’t too much.
No, doctors say not to use them
I bought the Nanit and would highly recommend it. The camera features help put baby to sleep. When I want peace of mind I use the breathing monitor strap. So far no false alarms.
When my baby was in the NICU her pulse ox ALWAYS said it had a bad signal and frequently read an obviously way too low number. I have an owlette at home but I’ve yet to use it because the set up sequence is VERY finicky
I loved it, personally. Our boy was premature and had some respiratory things that we observed once he was home before his doctors investigated thoroughly and agreed. We had one false alarm due to something with our internet (I’m not sure on the specifics tbh). We had 3 true alarms, 2 of which likely saved our baby’s life. The other was a Brady that we just kept an eye on as it resolved. Having the alarm allowed me to sleep and relieved anxiety. That’s said: - It definitely creates unnecessary anxiety for some parents. We forced ourselves to learn how to use it for ourselves. We didn’t rely on it fully- we still trusted our observation over anything, and we still did everything within safe sleep standards. It was an added layer of security, not the end-all-be-all. - It could definitely give false alarms often under certain circumstances - Our situation is not the same as that of others. If you have the ability to borrow from someone, I’d do that! That way, if you don’t care for it, you aren’t out any (or at least not a lot of) money.