New Home Medical Technology for Infants
Obie Editorial Team
Having children who are prone to illness or have some special medical needs can be a scary experience, especially when you don’t always have immediate access to medical information and advice. While you can always call your doctor for questions and you can take your child to the emergency room if you have an emergency, what happens when you just need to monitor your child to make sure everything is going well? Hospital visits are expensive, especially when they don’t end up being necessary.
To put some of your fears to rest, check out a few of these new home medical devices that will allow you to monitor your child anytime of the day or night.
Owlet Vitals Monitor
This device is a sensor sewn into the bottom of a baby’s sock. It allows you to record your infant’s heart rate, blood-oxygen levels, skin temperature, and even their quality of sleep. The data is then streamed real-time to your Smartphone so you can see how you’re baby is doing at any time of the day. Though this can be used to see if your child is ill, only about 6% of baby’s that use this device have special medical needs.
Withings Smart Kids Scale
Though your child is weighed regularly at their check-ups, there can often be quite a gap between appointments. For worried moms and dads that want to ensure their child is getting enough to eat, or if they’re getting too much to eat, there is the Smart Kids Scale for use in your very own home. It weighs your baby automatically and even transmits the data directly to your Smartphone like the vitals monitor.
Babies Diary
This last gadget is also an app for your Smartphone, and it keeps a running record of doctor visits, feedings, diaper changes, baby length and head size, and even bath times. It’s the perfect app for organized moms or on the opposite side of the spectrum, forgetful moms. This app will help you keep track of important medical information and everyday information as well so you can give your doctor accurate data and even find some peace of mind knowing that your baby’s schedule is healthy, just like them.
Smartphone technology is quickly becoming the standard for baby tech. However, some parents raise good questions about privacy issues and who is allowed to view the information. Before downloading any baby apps that help you record sensitive information, find out who created the app and who will have access to the data. Apps that share your information may not be something you want to use, so download carefully.