What is the difference between an NHS-loaned apnoea alarm and a shop-bought movement pad after NICU?

Are they the same kind of device?

No. A loaned NHS apnoea alarm is prescribed kit for one baby: the consultant has decided it is needed, someone shows you the buttons, and there is a plan for false alarms and when to call. East of England’s home-oxygen guideline (September 2020) says discharge with an apnoea monitor is not routine, and that families should know the alarm will not pick up all life-threatening events — for example some obstructive apnoeas.

A shop movement pad is nursery equipment. The Lullaby Trust factsheet (updated November 2024) describes mattress pads that sit under the mattress and sound after a period with no detected movement, usually 20 seconds. Many brands are sold as “reassurance” and are not certified medical devices. That is a different product class from a hospital lead set, even when the box uses the word “apnoea”.

Official records do not treat a consumer pad as a substitute for a consultant-issued alarm. Stacking a shop pad on top of prescribed oxygen or saturation kit does not add clinical cover.

What does each one actually detect?

How should we decide after NICU or SCBU?

1. 1
   Read the discharge letter If an apnoea alarm or saturation monitor is on the plan, it will be named. If it is not named, published guidelines treat home alarms as exceptional, not missing kit.
2. 2
   Ask what the hospital device detects Central pause, movement, or something else. East of England asks teams to agree a rough baseline for that baby’s usual heart rate, breathing and work of breathing so you know when to seek review.
3. 3
   If you were not offered a loan That matches GGC, East of England and Royal Berkshire wording more often than not. Ask the named consultant if you think your baby is in the exceptional group — do not fill the gap with a retail pad and call it the same thing.
4. 4
   If you still want a shop pad The Lullaby Trust says that if you use a movement monitor, look for a medical-device mark (MD) plus CE or UKCA, follow the maker’s instructions, and keep the control unit out of reach. Skin-contact wired pads are a poor fit once a baby can roll and grasp.
5. 5
   Do not add it on top of prescribed oxygen or sats kit Two alarms in one cot compete for your attention. Follow the breathing plan you were given. Bliss tells families not to change oxygen without a healthcare professional.

Where do CONI and Which? fit?

The Lullaby Trust’s CONI programme loans simple medical-device movement monitors to some bereaved families expecting another baby. That is not the NICU “going home this week” pathway, and it is not Angelcare-on-the-high-street.

Which? (20 August 2021) describes under-mattress pads that alarm after about 20 seconds without movement, notes that some parents find them reassuring and others more anxious after false alarms, and points to the Lullaby Trust: no evidence this monitoring prevents SIDS. That is the cautious paragraph — not a ranking of US camera kits.

In shortA loaned alarm and a shop pad share a siren and little else. One is a consultant decision with training and known gaps. The other is a movement-pause alarm you bought. After NICU, the discharging team’s plan is the document to follow — not a retail substitute.

Does either device replace safer-sleep practice?

No. The Lullaby Trust and NHS safer-sleep advice still apply: baby on their back, clear flat sleep surface, in the same room as you for the first six months. Pads and leads must stay out of reach. If the alarm sounds, switch it off and look at the baby — chest movement, cheek next to their face — then 999 if they do not respond. Never shake a baby.