Preemie babies can wreak havoc on a family’s future finances Nearly a third of parents with a very low birth weight baby have to make serious decisions about their job or career A parent might need to leave their job, which can affect health insurance coverage MONDAY, Oct. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The health problems of preemie babies cause untold heartache for new parents. But these families also face a strained financial future, a new study finds.
About 30% of parents with a very low birth weight baby, under 3.3 pounds, have had to make serious decisions about their employment and career based on their child’s health, researchers discovered. Having a preterm baby often forces parents to consider leaving their job, a decision that typically affects health insurance coverage and can reset the cap on their annual out-of-pocket costs, researchers said.
"The lower the child's birth weight, the more likely a parent was to make one of these decisions," said lead researcher Dr. Erin Von Klein , a neonatology fellow at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
"Of parents with a very low birth weight baby, 20% had one parent who left the workforce altogether due to their child’s health care needs," Von Klein noted. Even having a low birth weight baby -- 3.3 to 5.
5 pounds -- can trigger economic ramifications, researchers found. About 20% of parents with a low birth weight baby made an employment decision based on their child’s health,.