Post by Libby on Feb 3, 2009 11:48:14 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7860251.stm
Premature births cost the UK an extra £939m a year, say researchers at the Oxford Centre for Health Economics.
Their study calculated what the costs would be for all the preterm babies born in 2006 over the first 18 years of their life.
They looked at healthcare, education and the costs to their parents of having to have more time off work. And they say that more funding for research into ways to delay premature births could save £260m a year.
The baby charity, Tommy's, which funded the research, says this is the first study to look at the total cost to the public purse. The extent to which the costs associated with preterm birth are an economic burden has previously received little attention.
Jane Brewin, Tommy's chief executive said: "Given that the UK rate of premature birth is rising, this mammoth cost is set to grow even larger."
She said better neonatal care had improved the likelihood of these babies surviving but they still faced considerable difficulties.
"We know that there are serious implications for some of these babies such as chronic lung disease, haemorrhaging in the brain, eye problems, digestive tract problems and increased risk of infection."
The study, published in the US journal, Pediatrics, shows the researchers assigned a probability and cost to possible outcomes including the need for neonatal care, mild disability, moderate disability, severe disability and death.
They calculated that 66.4% of the total cost is incurred by those born only moderately prematurely between 33-36 weeks.
And almost all the extra costs come from when premature babies are in hospital just after birth.
KEY FINDINGS
Cost of premature birth to the UK is £939m per year
Cost of average preterm baby is one and a half times more than a baby born full term
Delaying all premature births by just one week could save £260m per year
A similar study in the US produced very similar results.
Professor Peter Brocklehurst, director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University, said: "The extent to which the costs associated with preterm birth are an economic burden has previously received little attention.
"We propose that more effort is focused on preventing preterm birth."
Premature births cost the UK an extra £939m a year, say researchers at the Oxford Centre for Health Economics.
Their study calculated what the costs would be for all the preterm babies born in 2006 over the first 18 years of their life.
They looked at healthcare, education and the costs to their parents of having to have more time off work. And they say that more funding for research into ways to delay premature births could save £260m a year.
The baby charity, Tommy's, which funded the research, says this is the first study to look at the total cost to the public purse. The extent to which the costs associated with preterm birth are an economic burden has previously received little attention.
Jane Brewin, Tommy's chief executive said: "Given that the UK rate of premature birth is rising, this mammoth cost is set to grow even larger."
She said better neonatal care had improved the likelihood of these babies surviving but they still faced considerable difficulties.
"We know that there are serious implications for some of these babies such as chronic lung disease, haemorrhaging in the brain, eye problems, digestive tract problems and increased risk of infection."
The study, published in the US journal, Pediatrics, shows the researchers assigned a probability and cost to possible outcomes including the need for neonatal care, mild disability, moderate disability, severe disability and death.
They calculated that 66.4% of the total cost is incurred by those born only moderately prematurely between 33-36 weeks.
And almost all the extra costs come from when premature babies are in hospital just after birth.
KEY FINDINGS
Cost of premature birth to the UK is £939m per year
Cost of average preterm baby is one and a half times more than a baby born full term
Delaying all premature births by just one week could save £260m per year
A similar study in the US produced very similar results.
Professor Peter Brocklehurst, director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University, said: "The extent to which the costs associated with preterm birth are an economic burden has previously received little attention.
"We propose that more effort is focused on preventing preterm birth."
