The Direct Cost of Low Birth Weight

Abstract

Medical and technological advances in the care of infants with low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams, or 5 pounds, 8 ounces) and very low birth weight (less than 1,500 grams, or 3 pounds, 5 ounces) have substantially increased the survival rate for these infants and have led to concerns about the demands their care places upon their families and society. The dollar cost of the resources used disproportionately to care for low birth weight children is one measure of the burden of low birth weight. Using analyses of national survey data for 1988 for children ages 0 to 15, this article presents estimates of the direct incremental costs of low birth weight--costs of the resources used to care for low birth weight infants above and beyond those used for infants of normal birth weight. In 1988, health care, education, and child care for the 3.5 to 4 million children ages 0 to 15 born low birth weight between $5.5 and $6 billion more than they would have if those children had been born normal birth weight. Low birth weight accounts for 10% of all health care costs for children, and the incremental direct costs of low birth cost weight are of similar magnitude to those of unintentional injuries among children and in 1988 were substantially greater than the direct costs of AIDS among Americans of all ages in that year.

A Survey of Neonatal Parenteral Nutrition Design Practices in North Carolina

“…infants 1 delivered in the US each year represent 1.4% of all deliveries, yet require extended hospital stays 2 in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) at a cost of $55,000 per infant. 3 During their recovery, they receive 3 weeks of parenteral nutrition 4 with the risk of medical injury for incorrectly designed or prepared parenteral nutrition. For example, excess parenteral protein/amino-acid administration causes metabolic acidosis and uremia; 5,6 whereas, inadequate administration decreases growth rate.…”

Maternal Intravenous Administration of Azithromycin Results in Significant Fetal Uptake in a Sheep Model of Second Trimester Pregnancy

“…Intrauterine infection is a primary cause of high-risk deliveries prior to 32 weeks of gestation (3), and a substantial body of clinical data demonstrate an inverse relationship between the incidence of intrauterine infection (2,4,5) and histologic chorioamnionitis (6,7) and the gestational age at delivery. PTB is estimated to account for about 10% of total child health care expenditure in the United States (8,9). Accordingly, developing effective antimicrobial treatments for intrauterine infection is likely a key step in preventing a significant proportion of PTBs.…”

Cercalge suture type for an insufficient cervix and its effect on health outcomes

“…An early birth puts survivors at risk of serious long-term disabilities 2 and these outcomes pose a significant burden on parents as well as having economic implications on health services. It is estimated that 10% of healthcare resources in developed countries are spent on treating diseases in children resulting from PTB 3 . Cervical insufficiency (also called cervical incompetence) is one of the important causes of PTB for which cerclage has been one of the established management options 4, 5, and 6 .…”