7 Best Baby Breathing Monitors in 2023

Are you anxious about your baby’s movement, breathing or sleep patterns? Or is there a need to monitor your baby’s breathing due to some condition?

It’s understandable for parents to worry about their babies due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 3,500 sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID) were reported in the United States each year.

The three commonly reported types of SUID are SIDS, unknown cause and accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. In 2018, about 1,300 deaths due to SIDS, 1,300 deaths due to unknown causes and about 800 deaths due to accidental suffocation were reported. These deaths occur among infants less than 1-year-old. Due to these reports, a breathing monitor becomes essential in every household.

As a new parent, I know that we want to ensure the safety of our baby and that’s why investing in the best baby breathing monitors is a wise decision. I know that it can be difficult to choose the best one, so I’m here to help.

In the next section, I’ll show you the high-quality breathing and movement monitors that will surely be helpful to you in looking after your child!

Baby Breathing Monitors	Rating	Check Price	Sensor	Features	Price
Nanit Plus Smart Baby Monitor	4.7	Click Here To Buy	Camera	Sleep, breathing motion, and temperature tracking. Contactless, Uses Nanit app.	$$$$
Snuza Hero (SE) Baby Movement Monitor	4.6	Click Here To Buy	Diaper Clip on	Movement tracking. Clip-on, Portable, Wake-up Technology, Replaceable Battery	$$$
Owlet Smart Sock 3 Baby Breathing Monitor	4.5	Click Here To Buy	Sock	Movement, oxygen level, heart rate tracking. Wireless charging. Pulse-Oximetry Technology, Accessible on Smartphone.	$$$$$
Levana Oma Sense Baby Breathing Movement Monitor	4.3	Click Here To Buy	Clothing Attach	Movement tracking. Affordable. Clip-on. Portable. Wake-up Technology. Battery-Operated	$$$
Miku Smart Baby Monitor	4.0	Click Here To Buy	Camera	Movement, room temperature tracking. Contactless.Smartphone compatible.	$$$$$
Babysense 7 Under-The-Mattress Baby Movement Monitor	3.9	Click Here To Buy	Sensor Pads	Movement tracking. Contactless. 6-month battery. Radiation Free. Hack Proof. No Interference.	$$$
Sense U Baby Monitor 2 Breathing Monitor	3.7	Click Here To Buy	Clip On	Movement, temperature, and rollover tracking. Compatible with Smartphone.	$$$$

Best Baby Breathing Monitors

The best baby breathing monitors are those that are durable, high-quality, efficient and within your budget. The list below includes various baby movements monitors that stood out in terms of the specifications I mentioned earlier. Some of them are affordable while others are more pricey, but the latter tend to offer more.

So, pick your choice. I’m pretty sure you will find a breathing monitor that ticks all of your requirements from my list!

1. Nanit Plus Smart Baby Monitor

Nanit Plus is an impressive and popular video monitor in the market. If you have the money and you want a great-quality and high-performance baby monitor, this is the movement monitor to buy! It is smart, reliable, offers tons of features that are not accessible in cheaper units.

You can access the data from Nanit on your smartphone and enjoy peaceful nights and lasting memories with your baby and your spouse because you can check your little one using this HD baby monitor that tracks their sleep, breathing motion, memories and more.

No need to guess your baby’s sleeping pattern because everything is available in their personal dashboard. Also, the Breathing Wear, Nanit cameras can see the baby’s chest as they breathe in real-time and it customizes the data. The app will alert you when the baby needs you. Sometimes it issues false alarms just like other baby movement monitors, but it rarely happens.

Plus, you won’t have hard time building memories with your child because the app, itself, serves as a digital scrapbook by generating the sweetest moments of your child which you can collect and share with your loved ones.

Nanit Smart Baby Monitor is an expensive video monitor, but it’s worth the price. It offers a lot of helpful features that will surely contribute to your peace of mind each time you are away from your child.

Specs

• Features: Overhead View with HD Video Monitor, Sound & Motion Alert, Nature Sounds & White Noise, Two-Way Audio, Night Vision, Tracks sleep, breathing motion, temperature, humidity and moments worth saving
• Range: 36.00 inches
• Dimensions: 3.3 x 3.5 x 1 inches
• Weight: 1 pound

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2. Snuza Hero (SE) Baby Movement Monitor

This is another wearable baby movement monitor that you can purchase for under $100. Yes, it is affordable compared to others and it is easy to use, you just have to clip it onto your baby’s diaper, and it doesn’t involve any cords, wires or sensor pads. I listed this as my second choice because I highly recommend it for those who want a great monitor but on a budget.

Snuza Hero (SE) is a clever little device that track your baby’s breathing via abdominal movements. It detects the slightest movements and will vibrate to rouse your baby after 15 seconds when it doesn’t detect any abdominal movements. Normally, the vibration is enough to rouse the infant and Hero will revert to monitoring mode.

This baby breathing monitor will alert you through an alarm if there are no abdominal movements after 20 seconds or after three vibration/rousing incidents. If an additional 5 seconds of no abdominal movement is detected a sharp audible alarm will sound.

It has a very simple design and it’s so easy to use. Aside from the alarm, it has a gentle clicker sound to notify you that it’s already power on. It also comes with indicator lights to let you know about weak or infrequent movement. Any parent who wants a great baby movement monitor without breaking a bank should consider it.

Specs

• Material: BPA free
• Battery life: 2000 hours
• Dimensions: 1.77 x 1.57 x 2.76 inches
• Weight: 0.04 Pounds

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3. Owlet Smart Sock 3 Baby Breathing Monitor

Owlet Smart Sock 3 is another baby breathing movement monitor that you can access on your smartphone. But what sets it apart from other baby breathing monitors is that it not only tracks your baby’s breathing and movement but also their vitals like heart rate and oxygen levels in real-time using a pulse oximeter.

Smart Sock is the first baby movement monitor to track the baby’s oxygen level and heart rate while they sleep. If you’re a parent with a child with a health condition and you are advised to check their oxygen levels from time to time, this device is for you.

Smart Sock fits newborns up to 18 months old or babies weighing 5 lbs to 30 lbs for both left and right feet. It is easy to set up for the app and base station and the sock is sync and ready to use. Also, there is a guide in the app and the instructions are easy to follow.

You can sleep with confidence knowing that something is watching over your baby and will immediately alert you when you are needed. Also, it is smarter and safer because it uses an established pulse-oximetry technology that has been proven to be accurate. When the baby’s reading leaves the preset “safe” zone, the app will immediately notify you that your little one needs your attention.

Owlet Smart Sock 3 is trusted by over a thousand parents who said this baby monitor changed their lives for the better — they were thankful for the peaceful nights this baby breathing monitor provides to them!

Specs

• Battery life: 16 hours
• Features: Video and Audio monitor, tracks movement, heart rate and oxygen levels, two-way. Read also our best baby heartbeat monitors for other options.
• Dimensions: 7.87 x 5.55 x 3.31 inches
• Weight: 1.01 pounds

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4. Levana Oma Sense Baby Breathing Movement Monitor

Levana Oma Sense Breathing Monitor is a wearable baby monitor so advanced that it detects breathing movements every 80 milliseconds without touching your baby’s skin. It has a patented WakeUp Technology that automatically works when no breathing patterns are detected. Oma Sense will vibrate to stimulate your baby and alarm to notify you if something is wrong.

For first-time users, this baby breathing monitor is very easy to use because it only has two buttons. Just turn the Levana Oma Sense breathing monitor on and clip the device onto your little one. It will automatically monitor your baby’s breathing movements and if no breathing movement is detected after 15 seconds, the device will vibrate to stimulate your baby. If there is still no breathing movement after 5 seconds, Oma Sense will sound a loud alarm to notify the parents.

Levana Oma Sense is convenient and easy to use because it is completely cordless and has no direct skin contact with your baby. Plus, it’s completely safe and guarantees 100% privacy because it has no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth frequencies.

However, it stops working when the baby rolls or sleeps on their side. When that happens, you have to place the monitor slightly off to the side. It is also very sensitive which results in false alarms sometimes which I prefer when it comes to my baby.

Overall, it has a simple design and very convenient to use. This baby breathing monitor doesn’t complicate things and it’s cheaper than other brands.

You may also be interested in our post on best non wi-fi baby monitors. We also reviewed the best bluetooth baby monitors here.

Specs

• Sensor type: Movement
• Material: Medical-grade ABS and TPE polymers
• Range: 200.00 inches
• Dimension:3.6 x 7.8 x 5.8 inches
• Weight: 0.64 pounds

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5. Miku Smart Baby Monitor

Miku Smart baby monitor is approved by HSA and FSA and it’s a real-time breathing baby monitor that also tracks the room temperature and humidity, sleep patterns and nursery condition. It has a two-way microphone too allowing you to comfort your baby with your soothing voice.

To make it easier for you to monitor your child’s sleeping practices you can see a night sleep and day sleep summary, including the average nursery condition, on your smartphone using their app. You can also see the HD Video and sounds and even listen to custom sleep sounds and lullabies on its dual ole Wolff speakers.

It is safe and secure because Miku offers 256-bit encryption and 2-factor authentication. It also houses a tamper-resistant Crypto Chip. Plus, it is accurate and contactless. Yes, there are no wires, pods, clips or any wearables that will make your baby uncomfortable because it’s just a camera.

Miku Smart Baby Monitor is an all-in-one camera monitor and it works really well. However, it’s really pricey compared to other breathing monitors because it just doesn’t track your baby’s breathing, it does more as it is packed with a lot of powerful features.

Specs

• Sensors: Movement, Humidity
• Features: Tracks room humidity ad temperature, has night vision, two-way audio talk, custom sleep sounds and lullabies
• Dimension: 2.6 x 2.8 x 5 inches
• Weight: 3.15 Pounds

If you’re looking for audio only tracking, check our best audio baby monitors.

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6. Babysense 7 Under-The-Mattress Baby Movement Monitor

Babysense 7 is a non-contact movement monitor designed for caring parents like you. It leaves nothing to chances by regularly checking on your child and keeping the hidden connecting wires away from them to eliminate the risks of entanglement.

This monitor is built to provide maximum monitoring accuracy. It has a 2-plate design that ensures full bed coverage and a mattress to closely monitor your baby’s micro-movements. Plus, it has an improved sensitivity concept that lowers chances for false alarms that is common among movement monitors. This breathing monitor has no parent unit, only a control unit.

This uses a totally safe technology thanks to its hack-proof monitor with no interference from other electronic household devices. It doesn’t heat up because it operates on standard AA batteries and no exposed wires. Also, it has been fine-tuned over years of iteration from the feedback of real users and hospitals backed by testing and quality control.

Babysense 7 is HSA/FSA approved and its various features work really well. It is 100% safe and offers more than basic monitors do but costs less than the expensive ones. See our Babysense Video Smart Monitor here.

Specs

• Features: Tracks sleep, movement with light and sounds alarm, passive sensor system and two sensitive sensor pads, hack-proof technology
• Dimensions: 9.61 x 8.9 x 3.7 inches
• Weight: 2.2 pounds

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7. Sense U Baby Monitor 2 Breathing Monitor

Another popular monitor to track your baby’s vitals is Sense U Baby Monitor 2 that connects a base station and notifies you when something happens to your baby. It monitors your baby’s breathing while they sleep and notifies you with lights and sounds when something happens. Plus, it notifies you when your baby rolls over to sleep on their stomach.

Moreover, it alerts you when your baby rolls over to sleep on their stomach. Aside from monitoring your baby’s breathing and movement, it also tracks their temperature to ensure that they are not overheating or getting cold thanks to its built-in thermometer. It will also alert you when your baby’s temperature is not normal.

I didn’t have any issue with this monitor from setting it up to using it for the first time. I also find Sense U Baby breathing monitor very helpful because it tracks my baby’s vitals, I’m even impressed that it will notify you when your baby rolls over to sleep. Plus, it supports twins and a 30-day full refund.

For other options of twin monitoring, you can also check our list of best baby monitors for twins.

Specs

• Features: Tracks baby’s breathing, body temperature and rollover, light and sound alert, notifications on smartphone
• Material: Plastic
• Dimensions: 1.6 x 1.6 x 0.4 inches
• Weight: 7.4 ounces

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Which Baby Breathing Monitor Is Best?

For me, the best baby breathing monitor is Nanit Plus Smart Baby Monitor because it offers you a lot of data while monitoring your baby. It is easy and convenient to use and it’s packed with powerful features that parents will surely love.

I personally love Nanit because I can trust that it will work and it also tracks my baby’s sleep, breathing motion, room temperature and humidity and even generate their sweet moments like a digital scrapbook. I’m at peace with Nanit when it comes to looking after my child.

But if you are in a budget, I suggest Snuza Hero (SE) because it is very simple and affordable. If all you want is to monitor your baby’s breathing and you do not want to spend more than $100 for the device, this definitely delivers all your expectations for a basic movement monitor.

Do Baby Monitors Prevent SIDS?

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexplained death of an infant younger than 1 year of age. It usually occurs in a previously healthy infant, but the cause remains unclear despite a thorough case investigation, including a complete autopsy, death scene investigation, and review of the clinical history, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In the United States, approximately 2,500 infants die from SIDS. For many years, it was believed that apnea is the predecessor of the said condition making home apnea monitors popular.

A home apnea monitor is a machine used to monitor baby’s heart rate and breathing after coming from the hospital. Apnea is defined as breathing that slows down or stops from any cause. The alarm is helpful because it will alert parents when the baby’s heart rate or breathing slows down or stops.

However, studies from research institutions such as the Collaborative Home Infant Monitoring Evaluation (CHIME) have demonstrated that apnea neither precedes nor predicts SIDS and while apnea or breathing monitors may be useful in selected patients with apparent life-threatening events (ALTEs), there is no evidence that they are useful in reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends against using monitors as SIDS prevention technique.

Are Baby Breathing Monitors Worth It?

Newborns could have an irregular breathing pattern which often worries parents. Their breathing pathways are small and easy to obstruct which makes it alarming. But, this irregularity in breathing is normally resolved within the first few months itself.

However, if you notice irregular breathing even after your baby turns six months, it could be a medical condition that is common among premature babies. Usually, doctors advise parents to invest in breathing monitors, so they can be alerted when their baby’s breathing is not normal.

A breathing monitor is a device that observes the baby’s breathing patterns and it if does not observe any movement from the baby, it sounds an alarm to notify the parents.

Breathing movements monitors are helpful if any of the two is true to your baby:

• Your baby needs home oxygen
• Your baby has serious breathing problems

Are they worth it? For me, they are definitely worth it. Parents should purchase a baby breathing monitor or movement monitors to ensure that their baby is safe and well.

Baby monitors offer parents peace of mind and that alone is enough reason for me to invest in a quality one. I want to be updated in real-time when it comes to my child. I want to be notified any time of the day even at night whenever they need me so, I would say a baby breathing monitor is very much worth it.

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Conclusion

Baby breathing monitors are very helpful to new parents when it comes to monitoring their newborns. You can get a camera monitor, video monitors or a simple clip-on monitor to track your baby’s movement.

Some of these baby breathing monitors are packed with additional features aside from monitoring breathing patterns. Some can track heart rate and oxygen levels or have extra sensors for temperature or alarm systems.

They are also designed differently even if they aim to deliver the same because some of them come with a smartphone app, HD camera, or crib mattress. Some brands also offer various types of alarms with others only working as audio monitors and the rest comes with light alerts.

There are tons of baby breathing monitors in the market, but the best baby breathing monitor for me is the Nanit Plus Smart Baby Monitor because it offers a lot of information to parents from the baby’s sleeping patterns to the nursery temperature and more.

The Hero unit from the bran Snuza is also a great option for a parent who doesn’t want to spend over $100 for a baby monitor. For parents on a budget, the best baby breathing monitor for you would be Snuza Hero and Levana Oma Sense.

If you wish to learn more about baby monitors, please check our home page.

References

• cdc.gov/sids/data.htm
• medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000755.htm
• pedsinreview.aappublications.org/content/28/6/209
• healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/Home-Apnea-Monitors-for-SIDs.aspx