Pediatricians Warn Parents: Use Of Smartphone Apps And Devices For Babies Unnecessary

With society's reliance on technology for daily activities, it's no longer surprising to find different gadgets, wearable products and technology promising to help parents. There are linked to smartphone apps that moms and dads use to monitor the baby's heart rate, blood levels or sleep patterns, for instance. Pediatricians, however, say all these might be unnecessary.

In the study published on the JAMA Network and led by pediatrician Dr. Christopher P. Bonafide, experts noted baby monitors connected to smartphone apps have been heavily marketed to consumers in the last two years. The idea behind the technology is to help parents become more in tune with their baby's growth, development and progress, or perhaps use the gadgets as an early intervention tool for potential health problems.

Many parents buy different devices with the thought that the monitors can give them peace of mind. In some cases, however, the monitors could give off false alarms and a false sense of security.

This is where pediatricians see the problem because some parents might subject their babies to unnecessary tests and procures as prompted by what they learn from smartphone monitors. Instead of peace of mind, the technology is actually making more parents anxious and paranoid.

Bonafide and his team also said several of these gadgets have yet to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. There's also no evidence to support how baby monitors are effective in telling whether a baby is healthy or not.

"I worry about the unnecessary care and even potential harm to babies that can be associated with alarms from these devices," Bonafide said, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "The public actually doesn't know anything about the accuracy of the devices or safety of these devices," he said.

In November, the American Academy of Pediatrics also released a study confirming their stand on smartphone apps and devices. The group said that high tech gadgets are not necessary especially if the baby is generally progressing in a healthy manner.