Preterm births are VERY costly

Each Pre-term birth costs $84,900: 10% of births are pre-term)

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Each Very Pre-term birth costs $334,000

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IndieBirths Jan 2017

  • “In 2005 the estimated cost for preterm birth in the United States was $26.2 billion annually, above the average cost of term births.”

  • “Preterm babies are [also] at higher risks for complications and health issues such as jaundice, retinopathy of prematurity, and chronic lung disease.”

March of Dimes 2016: preterm
Non-Hispanic white 8.9%
Hispanic 9.1%
Non-Hispanic black 13.4%

Premature birth -The financial impact on business March of Dimes 📄 PDF

Average employer expenditures for newborn care

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  • "Costs per infant include all employer payments for newborn medical care during the first year of life ."

  • "Employers pay 12 times as much in health care costs for premature/low birthweight (LBW) babies as for babies born without complications."

  • "Each premature/LBW baby costs employers an additional $49,760 in newborn health care costs.

    • When maternal costs are added, employers and their employees pay $58,917 more when a baby is born prematurely."

  • "With 1 in 9 babies born prematurely, employers spend more on that one premature baby than on the remaining eight babies combined."

  • figures from Truven Health Analytics, Inc. Costs of Preterm Birth. Prepared for March of Dimes, 2013

    Premature/low birth weight infants stay in hospital almost two seeks longer

Economics of preterm birth reduction

Assumptions: additional $50,000 per premature birth, $100 for education & supplements per pregnancy

Net savings per birth
After subtract all costs needed to eliminate 1 preterm Cost of
educ, supp
per pregnancy		 Total cost
Educ/supp.		 Cost of
test per
pregnancy		 Total
test
costs		 Net savings after
subtract costs
Vitamin D
(5,000 IU avg)		 $4,300 20 $100 $2,000 $200
(2 tests)		 $4,000
Omega-3 $646 67 $100 $6,700 $0 $0
Vitamin C
reduces early rupture		 $646 67 $100 $6,700 $0 $0
Iodine $320 100 $100 $10,000 $80 $8,000

Does not include additional savings to infant beyond the first year

    such as reductions in Autism, MS, Respiratory Tract Infection, Asthma, Allergies

Does not include additional savings to mother
    such as reduction in preeclampsia, miscarriage, gestational diabetes, depression
    nor does it assign any costs for anguish of possible premie death, stillbirth, time off from work, job productivity

Of course, the percentages cannot add up to 100%, which would = ZERO premature births. However, guess that the combination might result in a $3,500 average savings per birth, including reduction of preterm as well as other benefits to mother and child

Preterm birth and low Vitamin D - many studies

Details of pregnancy-related cost reductions for other supplements

Omega-3

Vitamin C

  • The Role of Vitamin C in Prevention of Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes
    RCT 2013, 100 mg of Vitamin C     PDF

Iodine

Magnesium

All nutrients

Folic Acid