But if a parent believes that it will help and it brings them peace of mind then I see no harm and no reason to argue the point.
You know what, I wouldn't want to argue against that. Of course parents should buy them if they think they will be reassured.
Apnea is not SIDS though. Babies do die on monitors sadly because sometimes there is nothing that can be done. Sometimes SIDS happens without apnea. Often parents with monitors do not have CPR training so can't actually do anything even if the alarm does sound. People on this thread have suggested they do prevent SIDS even though leading SIDS organisations say they don't. That's the bit that keeps me arguing but I will stop now. If you don't believe FSIDS you won't believe me
In my case, I just wanted to be able to read a study. I've heard over and over, before this thread, that movement monitors don't stop SIDS. I just want someone to explain why this technology doesn't work. So far, I have not been able to get my hands on a full paper that explains cases where a baby was being monitored for movement with a home movement monitor and died of SIDS. There are plenty of references out there, but I have yet to read one of the papers, and I was hoping someone out there had done and could relay how these babies died on the monitor. 20 seconds after the baby stops moving, the alarm sounds. If the parents rush to the bedside and do CPR, they should be able to bring a potential SIDS victim back. It's not enough to me that people say it doesn't work--I want to know how it could happen unless 1) the death is caused by something that CPR cannot fix (not the case with SIDS), 2) the equipment is defective, 3) the parents didn't hear the alarm.
I really am earnestly interested, not trying to have an argument. I'm just a scientist, and so far the first 4 references in that linked document have all been busts, IMO, because none of them can be traced back to a full paper that I can read. Please accept my apologies if I sounded snarky or argumentative--totally didn't mean it that way... Just seeking a good, thorough explanation