MONDAY, March 28, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- Besides taking a toll on the emotional lives of new parents, health-care expenses incurred during the first year of life for premature babies cost U.S. businesses nearly 15 times more than those for full-term infants, according to a March of Dimes analysis released Monday.
The average health-care cost for preemie babies in their first year of life is $41,610, compared to $2,830 spent on the average healthy, full-term baby, according to the analysis. The research was based on data from large, self-insured U.S. employers. Premature babies spend much more time in the hospital after they're born and require more outpatient visits and medical care than full-term babies, the researchers noted.
"Premature birth is a serious and common problem that places enormous emotional pressures on nearly 500,000 families each year in this country. Prematurity also creates enormous financial pressures on businesses and on the economy," Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, March of Dimes president, said in a prepared statement.
Premature babies spend nearly 17 days in the hospital during their first year of life compared with two to three days for healthy, full-term babies. Premature babies also have 50 percent more doctor's visits than full-term babies, the researchers said.
Businesses also lose out in terms of worker productivity, the study found: Mothers of premature babies averaged more than 29 days away from work over the six months after having their babies, compared with about 19 days for moms of full-term babies.
A separate analysis found that nearly half of hospital charges for premature babies born in the United States in 2002 -- about $7.4 billion -- was billed to employers and other private insurers, the March of Dimes said.
Prematurity is the leading cause of death in the first month of life and a major cause of disability, the group said.
More information
The March of Dimes has more about premature babies.
