Choosing a LOW EMF baby monitor
The the majority of baby monitors on the market are wireless; running off WiFi or Bluetooth.
Why is this a concern?
The truth is, we dont really know what the long term effects of constant exposure to EMF from different sources can have on children. This new generation of babies is among the first to be so fully enveloped in so many EMFs from conception on. What we do know is that a baby’s brain tissues is more absorbent, their skulls is thinner and their relative size is smaller than an adult’s which makes them more vulnerable to wireless radiation from wireless devices
All electrical devices emit EMFs- but wireless devices emit RF radiation.
When talking about radiation there are different types of radiation. The “worse types “of radiation‘s are ionizing radiation‘s which are radiation‘s that are strong enough to remove an ion from an atom. The radiation we tend to have commonly in our household are non-ionizing radiation and includes RF radiation. Some of the most common Sources of RF radiation includes microwave ovens, cell phones and cell phone towers. If RF radiation is absorbed by the body in large enough amounts, it can produce heat. This can lead to burns and body tissue damage. Although RF radiation is not thought to cause cancer by damaging the DNA in cells the way ionizing radiation does, there has been concern that in some circumstances, some forms of non-ionizing radiation might still have other effects on cells that might somehow result in cancer.
When looking for a monitor for a baby’s room these are your best options:
1. No monitor
The best way to avoid all EMF is to not have a monitor at all. Many people successfully skip having a monitor all together.
Truthfully I thought I could skip having a baby monitor but soon realized we needed something to monitor our baby girl- with two older boys its just too loud most of the time downstairs to be able to hear if she wakes up upstairs.
Whether this will work for you will likely depend on the size of your home and how quiet your home is during the day.
2. Hardwired baby monitor ( my choice)
To hardwire internet means to allows internet to pass directly from an access point( modem) to a device, via an ethernet cable instead of through the air which is what WiFi does. Hard-wired internet connections offer improved speed and stability, as well as significantly lower EMF radiation.
How do you hardwire a home? Some homes today come hardwired, if yours does not it will require having an electrician come over to hardwire your whole house ( basically they will run a series of ethernet cables from your modem (or switch) to the various rooms in your house that require internet… if you only want to hardwire the nursery it will be simpler than hardwiring your whole house). If you want to try to do it yourself: emfacademy.com has a step by step of how to do it yourself
If you dont want to hardwire your home the monitor I chose has a special FUNCTIONALITY that let's it become WIRED by connecting to a long Ethernet cable which works through ADAPTERS that plug into regular power outlets…. Techwellness has a step by step guide on how to do that:
I purchased this Dlink camera as a monitor. By connecting it to the internet via an ethernet cable the signal transfers from the camera to the parent unit ( there is an app you download in your phone or Ipad) via ethernet and not through wifi thus reducing the EMF radiation it emits ( a small amount of emf if emitted because it is connected to an electric outlet)
It transmits to an app on my cel phone ( which is working on wifi so i try to keep it not on me- but you can buy an adaptor to make your cellphone or ipad wireless too) and is super high quality, and allows you to pan, tilt and listen to sound so you can watch and listen in
3. If option 1 and 2 are not options for you- and you must use a wireless baby monitor I would recommend
⁃ keep baby monitors at a distance from crib and baby. At least 6 feet or more
⁃ Do not keep the monitor on all day. Only use when needed
SOURCES
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213879X14000583
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213879X14000583
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/radiofrequency-radiation.html