Babysense 7 Review
Pros: Alarm and lights, 2 sensor pads, no cords, few false alarms
Cons: Nursery alarm, no parent unit, no sensitivity adjustment
Manufacturer: Babysense
The Skinny
Our Analysis and Test Results
BabySense is a Hisense Ltd company. Hisense, founded in Isreal in 1991, is an award-winning medical device company that was the first to sell no-touch motion sensor technology in 1992. Hisense has subsidiaries and distributors in 35 countries and BabySense monitors are used in hospitals and homes worldwide.
Performance Comparison
Reliability
The Babysense 7 is a sensor pad or "non-contact" movement monitor with two sensor pads. Two pads can cover the space of a standard crib which can potentially result in fewer false alarms than monitors with only one pad. This is especially true once babies start to move as they can roll or creep too far away for a single sensor to adequately monitor them. However, false alarms can still happen as a result of interference from anything in Baby's room that can cause vibrations like heaters, mobiles, air filters, or noisemakers. As a result, parents should avoid placing these kinds of items near the crib.
The Babysense 7 requires a rigid surface with a minimum of 3/8 inch thickness (like plywood or similar) for the sensors to rest on under the mattress. The monitor won't work with certain types of mattresses including memory foam, thick straw, or hollow-core mattress types.
The Babysense 7 appears to be more reliable than the wearable style monitor and similar to other mattress pad sensors. While it lacks a sensitivity adjustment to help weed out ambient vibrations that could result in poor functioning, the use of two sensor pads theoretically increases the accuracy of the unit no matter where the baby is located on the mattress.
Ease of Use
This monitor is fairly straightforward with a simple plug and play design that doesn't have awkward or confusing buttons or menus to mess with. It is far easier to set up and use than the Angelcare AC403 and is arguably easier in the long run than a wearable because there is nothing to attach to a squirming baby. The only thing parents need to remember is to turn the monitor off before taking the baby from the bed and turning it on after you put the baby down to sleep. But, this process is true of any movement style monitor.
Set Up
Set up of the Babysense 7 requires placing the sensor pads under the mattress and assuring the cords are safely out of reach of the baby to prevent a strangulation hazard. This monitor requires a rigid surface under the mattress and the company suggests a minimum of 3/8 inch plywood and a simple solution if your crib doesn't come with a hard surface. The Angelcare company sells a wooden board for their monitors that should work equally well for the BabySense if you aren't handy or don't own a saw. The BabySense comes with two sensor pads to be placed under the mattress and a nursery unit that clips onto the side of the crib. The unit runs on 4AA batteries so there is nothing to plug in or pose a safety risk for strangulation. The Nursery unit has an on/off button and the unit faces outward so parents can see the alarm lights should they go off.
Portability
The Babysense 7 is easier to transport than other mattress pad options as it doesn't need to be plugged in and it has minimal wires. This monitor operates on 4 AA batteries that last 6-8 months under normal use so you don't need electricity or a bulky charging station. While it has multiple parts, each part is on the small side and lightweight enough for easy transport. However, the BabySense needs a rigid surface under the mattress which is often not available in hotels or travel cribs, so while it is easy to stow, it may not work with every sleeping surface you encounter on travel.
Electromagnetic Field (EMF)
During our tests for EMF, the Babysense 7 didn't register any EMF (Volts/meter) over the ambient room reading. These EMF results are impressive for anyone concerned about their baby's exposure to EMF. The results are on par with the other pad monitor and far lower than the top result that had EMF that exceeded the readable range (>6 V/m) of our test instrument. In our opinion, parents should choose the product that meets their needs with the least amount of EMF to help protect their baby's delicate systems.
Manufacturer Video
— Juliet Spurrier, MD and BabyGearLab Review Team