Physicians are concerned that a new class of baby monitors could do more harm than good.

So many products today — socks, onesies, buttons and other items — have electronic sensors sewn in or embedded that can continually check babies’ vital signs. Any abnormalities send an alarm to the parents via their smartphones.

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But the monitors do not have the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. And physicians are concerned that repeated false alarms from the monitors not only further deprive already sleep-deprived parents of rest, but also lead to unnecessary tests performed on babies.

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An editorial on the subject by Dr. Christopher Bonafide, with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is featured in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

Pediatrician Robert Hamilton, M.D., at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, shared his thoughts with LifeZette: “We live in an amazing world of technical gadgets. Many are useful tools that save time and open to us an infinity of information about the world around us. Babies are different. We are called to love our children, not monitor them. If parents lovingly caress them and hold them in their arms, they will know when they are feeling a bit punk, when they have a fever and when they’re breathing is too fast.”

He added, “For normal, healthy babies there is no need to quantify, write down or record every hiccup or bowel movement that the baby has ever had. And in my opinion, this hyper-vigilance interferes with healthy parenting.”

Hamilton also said that for years and years, “parents — particularly mothers — have done a great job of ‘monitoring’ their babies. For normal, healthy babies there is no need to quantify, write down or record every hiccup or bowel movement that their baby has ever had. And in my opinion, this hyper-vigilance interferes with healthy parenting. I tell mothers they have given birth to a ‘living human being.’ I know this sounds silly, but parents don’t have to induce every bowel movement for their child, initiate every breath or encourage their child’s heart to beat. These normal human functions are included in the package!”

He noted that for normal, healthy kids “who are pink and smiley, there is virtually no reason to wire them up.”

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There are several situations in which monitoring is valuable. Babies who are born prematurely have a greater tendency to have fluctuations in their breathing and, as a result of these respiratory changes, their heart rates.

When premature babies come home from the hospital, there is great value in monitoring them for a couple of months to make sure all is well, said Hamilton.

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Also, when a breastfeeding mother is taking a particular drug that is known to cause apnea in newborns, that’s another situation in which monitoring may be valuable. “One mother in my practice is taking a medication called lamotrigine (Lamictal) for bipolar disease,” Hamilton told LifeZette. “This medication is known to get into breast milk and rarely, but potentially, cause apnea in newborns. This is a perfect situation for monitoring. This mother is allowed the joy of breastfeeding her child without the worry of an untoward event occurring without her being aware.”

Hamilton added that some babies have “what pediatricians called an ‘Apparent Life Threatening Event’ (ALTE). This is an event in which children become limp, have a slowing of their breathing and heart rate, and appear acutely ill. The actual cause of an ALTE is often difficult to know for sure. These children, after they have had an evaluation, are worthy of a monitor.”

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The pediatrician also noted that in some cases, “monitoring allows for babies to come home from the hospital earlier. In the past, many babies were kept at the hospital for monitoring purposes only. Now, it can be done safely at home. This is brilliant and a good use of medical resources.”

He added pointedly: “The biggest concern is that we have come to think we can control all of life. This is mythology. Life happens to people, even babies — whether they are being monitored or not.”