Do you need a baby monitor?

No. A monitor is a convenience, and it's fine to skip one. The Lullaby Trust's short list of safer sleep essentials has a cot or Moses basket, a mattress, a sleeping bag or blanket, a room thermometer and a car seat. No monitor.

Its monitor fact sheet says some parents find one reassuring, "however there is no research evidence that monitors prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)". It adds that a monitor can never replace a parent or carer's supervision. Whichever way you go, it says, keep following all its safer sleep advice: on the back, on a firm, flat surface, in a clear cot. The NHS says in the same room as you for at least the first 6 months, and the Lullaby Trust says that covers day and night.

We aren't doctors. If you're worried about your baby's health, speak to your doctor or health visitor.

When one is useful

Early on, your baby sleeps where you are, so there's less for a monitor to do. The Lullaby Trust says you can leave the room to make a drink or go to the toilet, but that most of the time it's safest to be close by.

After those first 6 months, your baby may move to their own room. A big house or a loft conversion are honest reasons to want one. If you can hear your baby from the sofa, save the money.

Audio, video or Wi-Fi

Three kinds cover nearly everything, and the choice mostly comes down to what you want to see.

We couldn't read a current price for any of these four on 3 November 2026.

Motorola's site showed euros when we looked, and Philips lists its monitor only in a loyalty shop. We won't guess a UK figure.

Those ranges come from the makers, and walls cut them down. Philips gives both figures: 300 m outdoors and only 50 metres indoors. Take the indoor number as the one that counts.

We haven't tried any of these, and this rests on makers' pages and the safety sources named here.

Audio. The AM21 is the simplest. It has no camera and no app, and Motorola says its DECT link doesn't interfere with your Wi-Fi. For hearing a cry from downstairs, it does the whole job.

Video, no Wi-Fi. The PIP1200 and SCD881/05 send pictures to a handset over a 2.4 GHz link, say Motorola and Philips. Both have 2x zoom and two-way talk. The PIP1200 adds room temperature alerts, though a plain room thermometer gets you the 16 to 20C check that the NHS and the Lullaby Trust give.

Wi-Fi. The VM44 Connect has a parent unit plus an app, for up to 4 cameras. It's the one to pick if you want to look in from work or from a phone. I doubt most homes need it.

Wi-Fi and passwords

Which? has tested 36 baby monitors and says it found insecure passwords that can potentially leave your account wide open to hackers. The page we read doesn't tie that to named models, and Which? keeps its test scores for members. So we can't tell you how these four did.

Motorola describes "triple layer security" on the VM44 Connect. That's Motorola's claim. We didn't see it tested.

Here's my view. If you don't need to see your baby from outside the house, a monitor with no app and no account removes that worry altogether.

Movement and breathing monitors

We don't list these. They're a different product: a pad under the mattress, or a sensor on the baby, set to alarm when movement stops.

The Lullaby Trust says many sold as "reassurance" monitors aren't certified as medical devices. If you plan to use one, it recommends one that is, labelled "MD". It also says they can pick up movement that doesn't come from your baby, which could give false reassurance. On monitors that measure heart rate, breathing or blood oxygen, it says there's no evidence they can prevent sudden infant death syndrome.

The AAP agrees from the US side. It says there is no evidence that consumer heart rate and pulse oximetry monitors decrease SIDS risk, and warns against a false sense of security.

If something about your baby's breathing or health is worrying you, a product isn't the answer. Speak to your doctor or health visitor.

One thing to check on the list above. Motorola says the VM44 Connect sends motion, sound and temperature notifications. Its page doesn't call it a medical device. We wouldn't read a motion alert as a safety feature, or as any check on breathing. "A monitor can never replace a parent or carers supervision of a baby," says the Lullaby Trust.

Placing it, and second-hand

I'd think about placement before brand. The Lullaby Trust wants nothing within reach of the sleep space, and its examples include blind cords and nappy sacks. Treat a camera cable the same way. Mount or stand the camera well away from the cot, with the lead out of reach.

Second-hand is a reasonable way to buy an audio or video monitor. The Lullaby Trust's general checks apply: get the instructions, make sure nothing's broken or missing, and search "product recalls" on GOV.UK. Read the model number on any used Philips Avent, given the recall below. Movement monitors are different. There the Trust recommends buying new.

Recalls

A 2023 OPSS recall covered older Philips Avent video monitors, SCD620 to SCD845, because the parent unit's battery could overheat. The SCD881/05 isn't one of the listed models. We found no current recall for it on 3 November 2026, and none for the three Motorola models on 3 November 2026.

What you can skip

The monitor itself, if you can hear your baby from where you sit. Apps and extra cameras, if you have one baby and no reason to look in from elsewhere. Our safer sleep basics page covers what matters more, and what you need before the birth keeps the wider list short. If you've decided you want one, you can see every monitor we list.