The cost of prematurity

The average cost of medical care for a premature or low birth-weight baby for its first year of life is about $49,000, according to a new report from the March of Dimes Foundation.  Babies born after the 37th week of pregnancy are less costly to the health care system than premature babies. By contrast, a newborn without complications costs $4,551 for care in its first year of life, the report said. Newborns with other kinds of complications, such as congenital defects, have medical expenses of $10,273 on average in the first year.  Read the entire article here.

I sat and thought about our costs during Rachel’s first year.  $49,000 seems like a very low estimate.  Rachel was born at 26 weeks. - a full three months early.  She was in the NICU for 6 weeks.  She is our million dollar miracle. Her sister Olivia was born 2 months early.  She was hospitalized for 4 weeks.

What drove the costs up for us is the fact that Maui does not have a NICU.  I delivered both girls at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children on Oahu.  Kapiolani has the only Level III NICU in the Pacific and when my water broke at 25 weeks during my first pregnancy, I had to be medivac’d there.   During my second pregnancy, I spent 4 weeks on bed rest at Kapiolani so they could closely monitor my developing preeclampsia.  Both girls spent a combined 10 weeks in the NICU while I stayed at the Ronald McDonald House to be near them.

The heaviest cost to us the first year was the loss of one income.  When you have preemies, especially as early as ours, daycare is not an option.  The risks are too great…their systems are generally too fragile to be exposed to that many germs that soon.  We made the decision that Rob would stay home with Rachel to care for her.  We basically drained our savings that first year.  When Olivia was born in two months early last October we knew that he would again put his career on hold until she was strong and healthy enough to be put in a daycare situation.

For us,  the true cost of prematurity is not just the out of pocket medical expenses.  The travel & lodging on Oahu, the continued medical treatments on Oahu for both girls,  the total loss of one income…it all continues to add up.

The article stated that some babies are just destined to be born early.  I’m beginning to think that Rachel and Olivia were.  Recently someone told me that these babies and this cause chose me.  If that’s true, I hope and pray I’m doing all of them justice.