Would you spend $1,695 on a Snoo? Here's what parents say about the smart bassinet — and why it's now FDA-approved.

Parenting gadgets can be divisive, but in this day and age none are more talked about than the Snoo. The Snoo, a smart bassinet that automatically rocks and soothes a baby, hit the market in 2016 and has been growing in popularity ever since. With a price tag of $1,695, the debate surrounding it has been growing too.

Developed by Dr. Harvey Karp, most famous for teaching millions of parents how to soothe their babies in his best-selling book The Happiest Baby on the Block, the Snoo contends it “adds one to two hours of sleep per night with constant calming womb-like motion and sound.” As the baby fusses in bed the rocking motion accelerates and white noise intensifies, de-escalating once the baby calms down. “The Snoo’s swaddle, sound machine and motion all work together to provide some of the same comforts your baby experienced in the womb: a snug fit, constant shushing sound and movement,” explains neonatal nurse turned baby sleep expert Cara Dumaplin, better known as Taking Cara Babies. “Any product that can help calm a fussy baby appeals to parents because they want their baby to be happy and comfortable. The Snoo really can be a helpful tool in doing that.”

(Full disclosure: I am a millennial-aged mom and my twin boys slept in Snoos for the first six months of their lives, which is how long the Snoo is meant to be used. Further full disclosure: Any parents from older generations who saw me getting my boys in their Snoos generally thought the act of me zipping my babies into swaddles and strapping them onto a moving mattress looked like I was engaging a torture device.)

In March, the Snoo was given FDA De Novo approval, an official stamp of approval for its safety and efficacy. In addition to soothing babies, the Snoo keeps infants safely on their backs while sleeping, the recommended position for infants to prevent SIDS [sudden infant death syndrome]. Indeed, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development calls putting a baby to sleep on their backs "the single most effective action that parents and caregivers can take to lower a baby's risk of SIDS ” For many, that is the Snoo's most important feature.

“My favorite part of the Snoo is that the baby is secured in place,” says Abigail Zamorano, a gynecologic oncologist with one baby and one on the way. “I was terrified of my son rolling over or moving and not being able to breathe, so it gave me peace of mind.”

Zamorano adds, “Since my husband and I are both physicians, we really liked that it was made by a physician. SIDS has always been at the top of our list of concerns with infants, so we did whatever we could to try and prevent it. Knowing the Snoo was specifically designed to try and reduce the risk of SIDS was huge for us.”

Other parents shared that, in addition to the safety element, the Snoo did deliver on its promise to help their children get more sleep, which by default meant the parents got more sleep. “I realized sleep is so important to me as a person, and the Snoo made that possible,” shares Cassie Carothers, a mom of two who works in communications. “I was very happy with it.”

“It just was a complete game-changer for us,” adds Florencia Segura, a pediatrician who has used the Snoo with all three of her children.

Of course the love of the Snoo is not universal.“The Snoo is pretty crazy,” says Victoria Cairo, who used the Snoo with her first child but not her second. “You essentially strap your baby into this swaddle that looks a lot like a strait jacket and then hook that swaddle into the sides of the bassinet. The first time we put our son into this contraption, I felt so disconcerted.”

Cairo adds, “I don't think I ever got used to watching a machine try to soothe my child when I knew that what he really wanted was to be picked up and soothed by me.”

Even parents who end up loving the Snoo often have some questions. “I see two common concerns," Dumaplin tells Yahoo Life. "The first is that parents feel dependent upon the Snoo to calm their baby and put their baby to sleep. For parents who don’t have other sleep strategies, this can create a lack of confidence when it comes to traveling without the Snoo, handling a day out while running errands or even visiting family. The second is that babies can become reliant on the constant motion of the Snoo to fall asleep and stay asleep in the night. I recommend that parents begin to use the weaning mode by three months or even earlier to help prevent this.”

Other concerns are more safety-focused. “The Snoo has been flagged for two safety concerns: swaddling and white noise,” says infant and toddler safety specialist Holly Choi. “Although the Snoo’s unique swaddling system aims to prevent rolling altogether, it remains imperative that parents carefully follow the product instructions, as any misuse could result in creating a hazard.”

As a pediatrician, Segura typically gets questions about the Snoo from the parents of patients based on "stuff circling around the web." Among them is: "Is the white noise machine too loud for the baby?” According to Segura, "there is a way to decrease the noise, but so far, we know that noise is not too loud. The other questions I get are, especially for fresh newborns, is it safe for them to go that long without a feed? Will it affect my milk supply? Is it moving too much?"

With respect to milk supply and baby’s eating Segura recommends pumping overnight if necessary and adds that realistically, very young babies will wake up to eat whether they’re in a Snoo or not. As for motion, “it's the amount of swaying that you would be swaying a baby or swinging a baby anyways if you were trying to shush them,” she says.

Far and away though, the most controversial thing about the Snoo is the price. “Because of the price tag it’s still a little bit taboo,” says Segura.

But families and communities, in addition to Snoo rental programs, are finding ways to share the cost. “We handed ours down to my sister for her daughter, and now we have it back for the new baby,” shares Zamorano. “I’m sure we’ll just keep it in the family until everyone is finished having kids, then we’ll pass it along to someone else."

“If I were ever to do it again for some reason, I would absolutely rent and not purchase,” shares Cairo. “As a first-time mom I was so obsessed with the idea of my baby's bed being pristine and new, but that was objectively silly. Renting is certainly a lower-stakes way to give it a try.”

Additionally, FDA approval will make the expensive bassinet more accessible. The Snoo is now classified as a Class II medical device, meaning in some cases insurance will help cover the cost. Some companies — like SNAP, Activision and Hulu — are offering Snoos as a benefit.

For those interested in the Snoo but can’t swallow the price, Dumaplin has suggestions. “The snugness in the swaddle and the shushing sound of the Snoo can be provided by more budget-friendly options. The motion of the Snoo can be provided by a parent simply placing their hand on baby’s chest and gently rocking their swaddled body side to side,” she says. “At the end of the day, any product can be traded for another at a different price point, but what can not be replaced is the parent.

“The Snoo can be a great tool for families who can afford it,” Dumaplin adds. “But the Snoo is not at all required to have a great little sleeper.”

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