Using an incubator creates an electromagnetic field in the area immediately surrounding the baby. The main job of the machine is to keep the air surrounding the baby warm. Many thousands of newborns need an incubator to help keep them healthy, some for many months after birth.

The natural switching of the heart rate is thought to be a good thing in adult patients with heart disease, there is no evidence, however, suggesting the same is true of babies. To see if incubators had any effect on the infant, the researchers from the University of Siena looked at “heart rate variability”: the natural switching up and down of the heart rate by the body.

They found that during the “switched on” periods, heart rate variability in the babies fell significantly, but they still don’t know if this is good/bad, leads to short term effects or if it even leads to long term damage. Guess we have no choice if the baby needs an incubator: it’s life or death.