Health Trackers Are Everywhere. Do Babies Need Them, Too?

About this episode

<p>More and more people are wearing technology in the form of fitness bands and smart rings. These devices track metrics such as heart rate, skin temperature and sleep. The latest frontier is health tech for babies — and it’s being supercharged by artificial intelligence.</p><p>Sapna Maheshwari shares her family’s experience with health tracking and discusses whether it’s helping people or just adding to their anxieties.</p><p>Guest: <strong>Sa</strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/sapna-maheshwari" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>pna Maheshwari</strong></a>, a reporter covering new media companies for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading:&nbsp;</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/business/smart-baby-monitors-nanit-owlet.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aw, it’s baby’s first A.I. surveillance system</a>.</li><li>Will A.I. kill us? Can it hack my bank account? <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/science/ai-safety-questions-risk-danger.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Your A.I. questions answered.</a></li></ul><p>Photo: Margeaux Walter for The New York Times</p> <p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p><p> </p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>