Over the last few years, more parents have been hooking their infants up to smart devices to monitor their precious ones’ vital signs. Now, a group of medical professionals says they could instead pose a danger.

A study just released by the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that some of the devices sold to parents, capitalizing on their fears, haven’t actually gone through clinical trials or been proved to be effective.

Such devices, known as “infant physiologic monitors,” are smartphone apps that work with sensors built into items of a baby’s clothing, including buttons or diapers. The sensors monitor a baby’s breathing, pulse rate and blood oxygen saturation, informing parents of anything abnormal.

The smart monitors also claim to help prevent sudden infant death syndrome, which reportedly kills around 3,500 infants each year. That number, incidentally, hasn’t significantly changed since the 1990s, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The JAMA report noted that baby wearables are expensive, too. For example, the report cited the Owlet Baby Care smart sock, a $250 monitor that will inform parents if their baby stops breathing.

The report states that while such devices make no claims of diagnosing, treating or preventing disease, it also says, “There is no evidence that consumer infant physiologic monitors are life-saving, and there is potential for harm if students choose to use them.” In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a policy statement asking parents not use to “home cardiorespiratory monitors as a strategy to reduce the risk of SIDS.”

The report goes on to say that many of the allegedly life-saving devices have not been tested through trials for safety, accuracy or efficacy. It also calls out dubious medical apps.

One of these apps, according to the report, told sufferers of hypotension, or low blood pressure, that their reading was normal when it wasn’t — a massive 80 percent of the time. There have also been stories of baby monitors doing just the opposite, giving false-positive results so worrying parents have rushed their infants to hospital.

JAMA asks that there be stricter regulations on medical apps, including infant monitors. It says the Food and Drug Administration has the power to do just that, but companies can get around the regulations by not making certain health claims.

Photo credit: Yoann JEZEQUEL via Flickr