Units are either mains or battery operated. Battery operated monitors are entirely portable. Some come with rechargeable batteries which can save the expense and fuss of new batteries, others come with adapters for optional mains use. Features may include an optional alarm that sounds when no movement is detected for more than 20 seconds. These monitors will either reassure you greatly or terrify you half to death.
Most new parents worry a great deal about their baby's breathing.
Babies often have very shallow, hardly noticeable breathing or irregular breathing patterns and it is quite normal to be nervous and to keep checking, often unnecessarily, on your newborn's breathing. Respiration monitors are designed to help and can be a great comfort and reduce the number of times you run in and out of your baby's room. They may have to be physically connected by cables run through the house and may not be very portable. They can be expensive but can be used later for keeping an eye in a neighbouring room while a toddler is at play or for home security. The Intouch 6 and 7 monitors are still safe and not impacted by the recall.