An Infant Apnea Monitor
Alerts You When Your Baby Stops Breathing.

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A infant apnea monitor or a baby breathing monitor is a small device placed in the room of a sleeping infant so the parents can be sure their baby is breathing.

Some babies leave the hospital with an apnea monitor but with others apnea is detected after coming out of the hospital.

What is apnea?

Infant Apnea Monitor.
Photo credit: ChEIDo

Apnea is a greek word that means "without wind". Apnea is the cessation of breathing.

This is quit common in prematurely born babies. These pauses in breathing can be very frightening for parents.

A baby breathing monitor can provide some peace of mind for worrying parents.

What are the symptoms?

Pauses (cessation) of breathing during sleep.
Colour change (The infant is pale or bluish)
Tone change - limpness.
Noisy breathing during sleep.

The combination of apnea , colour change ( cyanotic or pale), marked change in muscle tone (limpness), choking or gagging is an Apparent Life-Threatening Event (ALTE).

Such an episode is very frightening to the observer. Most children who experience an ALTE are given a sleep apnea device.

Contact your healthcare provider immediately if you suspect apnea in your infant. If your baby has medical difficulties it is crucial you know how to resuscitate and learn about infant CPR. This can save your baby's life.

There are three types of apnea.

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Obstructed sleep apnea - When tonsils or adenoids are blocking (obstructing) the airways. Symptoms of this type of apnea are snoring,laboured breathing, changes in color and restlessness. It usually occurs during sleep.

Central apnea - Is a defect of the brain that controls breathing. a central apnea is when breathing stops for more than 10 seconds (20 seconds in infancy).It is common in premature babies and can happen any time of the day (daytime apnea).

Mix apnea - Contains elements of both obstructive and central apnea,either in the same apnea pause or at different times of the day.

What is the difference between Apnea of prematurity and infant apnea?

Apnea of prematurity (AOP)- Is apnea of infants born before 37 weeks (about 9 months) after conception. This apnea is caused by respiratory immaturity.
Apnea of infancy (AOI) - Is when apnea persists in a neonatal born 37 weeks after conception.

How does an infant apnea monitor work?

There are several ways you can detect if baby is breathing or not. Most of these home monitoring systems can detect even the slightest movements. When movements stop an alarm will go of.

The Respisense BUZZ Infant Breathing Movement Baby Monitor is a device that you can clip on bay's diaper to record the movements of your baby's tummy.

When movement (breathing) stops or becomes to shallow, a loud alarm will alert the parents.

Another monitoring device uses a sensor pad that is placed under the baby's mattress. For example the B�b�sounds Angelcare Deluxe Movement Sensor with Sound Monitor detects the gentle movements of an infant's chest.

A loud acoustic and visual alarm is triggered if the baby's movement and breathing stops for more than 20 seconds.

The sensor pad has no harmful effect on your baby. The Graco Angelcare Movement Sensor's Nursery Unit has a soft nightlight and room thermometer.

The simplest and most reliable infant apnea monitor available, HiSense Baby Safe Infant Movement Monitor comes with two very sensitive sensor pads which are placed under the baby's mattress, and a high speed microprocessor control unit.

The control unit alerts you with a loud alarm if it does not detect any movement for 20 seconds or if it detects less then 10 micro-movements per minute. Even the slightest body motions are registered as movement.

BabysenseTM V is not a medical device. It just monitors and alerts the parents to take action.

If your baby sleeps in multiple places an infant apnea monitor with an under the mattress pad is not so handy. The Snuza Go! Mobile Baby Breathing Monitor can be used whether he is sleeping in his crib, in his bouncy seat, or even in his carseat. Another great feature of the Snuga Go is you can adjust the time of the alarm (15, 18, or 20 seconds).

Snuga Go

The superior clip design has a better nappy grip that avoids false alarms. It is made of high quality hypoallergenic materials to prevent allergies or irritations on baby's tymmy.

Portable home monitor device

Another type of infant apnea monitor is used for babies with persistant apnea, severe reflux or family history of SIDS.

They are discharged from hospital with a portable home monitor device. They use stick on patches or a belt that will be attached to baby's chest.

This device monitors the breathing and heartrate of the baby.

What causes sleep apnea in children?

Central sleep apnea occurs when your brain fails to transmit signals to your breathing muscles. When you have obstructive sleep apnea large tonsils or adenoids are blocking the airway and preventing air from getting to the lungs.

In some cases, the episode of prolonged apnea can be traced to a specific problem such as infection, airway obstruction, heart disease, seizure, or choking.

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