Types Of Baby Monitors

There are many types of baby monitors and are used for slightly different purposes.

All are intended to monitor the baby but all in a slightly different way.

Wired And Wireless Baby Monitors

There are wired and wireless type baby monitors. The wireless type is more convenient as there is the flexibility to place the units anywhere in the home and these units usually take their power from batteries. There are two types of technology used with wireless baby monitors and they are analog and digital (DECT). Analog baby monitors are the earlier type and were susceptible to interference but the newer digital type are far more reliable.

Audio Baby Monitors

Of the most popular is the audio baby monitor. These are relatively inexpensive electronic devices that generally consist of a battery powered transmitter and receiver units and are used by the parent or carer to listen to the baby’s activity. By using the audio baby monitor they can tell if the baby is showing signs of waking or starts to cry.

Video Baby Monitors

As the name suggests these are monitoring devices that use video and images to watch over your baby in the room where they are resting. On the transmitter that sits in the same room as the baby, there is usually audio capability too but with the addition of a camera rather like a webcam that captures images and sends them to the receiver unit for the parents or carers to view. The receiver will generally incorporate a LCD screen to watch the images. There are some video baby monitors that can be linked to the internet so you can view your baby anywhere, away from your home. This is fantastic when you return back to work to be able to watch your baby from your workplace whilst they are being looked after at home by your nanny.

Baby Heart Monitor

Used whilst the baby is in the womb, a baby heart monitor - also known as a Fetal Doppler – will monitor the little baby’s heartbeat. The Fetal Doppler uses sound waves to detect the sound of the infant’s cardio activity and these sound waves bounce off of the little baby’s heart and are sent back to the listener for the parents to monitor via a speaker or earphones.

Movement Sensor Baby Monitor

Again, as the name suggests this monitoring unit detects movement of the baby – or rather - the lack of it. When the baby stops moving for a period of time the unit will send an alert for you to attend and check that your baby is fine.