Baby Sleep Apnea Monitors
Sleep ApneaPeople connect sleep apnea with overweight adults, mostly men, and this profile does tie in with most sufferers, but in fact everybody ceases breathing at some time when they are asleep. Not every night as with sufferers of sleep apnea, but every now and then.
Even babies can stop breathing sometimes. This can be a terrifying experience for parents and carers. If you are worried about your baby suffering from apnea, you could get one of the baby sleep apnea monitors.
There are three forms of apnea, which means 'without wind' and derives from Greek: central, obstructive and mixed or complex apnea. Obstructive apnea is by far the most common kind and it is also the explanation why babies get apnea the majority of the time too.
Even though a small amount of apnea occasionally is fairly standard, constant apnea could be a signal that something is wrong medically. Two of the causes in babies could be inflamed adenoids or tonsils, which could have significant consequences.
It is difficult to tell what is going on with babies at the best of times, but when a baby is suffering from apnea, you may become aware of snoring, breathlessness, colouration and restlessness.
Obstructive apnea usually just happens during sleep when muscles are relaxed, however, central apnea can occur at any time of the day or night. Central apnea is caused by a part of the brain that regulates breathing not working properly. This sort of apnea is more common in premature babies.
Mixed or complex apnea is a mixture of the other two types and is also pretty common in children.
Your doctor, the nurse or the midwife will check for apnea and may suggest that you buy one of the various baby sleep apnea monitors. One of the concerns with these baby monitors is that none of them is completely dependable to detect the end of breathing. Therefore, the better baby monitors will include a heart beat detector as a back-up.
The monitor must also be able to activate an alarm outside the room where the baby is, so that the parent or carer can walk around the house without having to worry about checking up on the baby regularly
These remote alarms are usually wireless nowadays and they may also have a vibration alert. This is a very helpful function. The last thought is the power source. Batteries alone are not really suitable.
The best forms are rechargeable. That is, they function like a mobile phone. This means that the sensor can be attached to the cot and the baby wherever it is, even when there is no local power source.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of subjects, but is now concerned with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Sleep Apnea Surgery Techniques