General term for electronic devices used in the home to check the breathing and/or heartbeat of a child susceptible to sleep apnea or considered to be at-risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); most commonly some type of cardiac monitor or cardiorespiratory monitor. In late 1990, the Food and Drug Administration gave approval to the first fetal monitoring device intended for home use. The aim of cardiac or cardiorespiratory monitors is to alert parents or caregivers to problems so that they can attempt to relieve the problems before the brain and other organs are damaged. While home monitors are clearly useful in some situations, as among infants who have already experienced an apparent life- threatening event (ALTE), evidence is less clear or simply unavailable about their usefulness among other infants.