New research shows that the health challenges of caring for a premature baby don’t just bring emotional strain but can also put families under financial stress. About one in three parents of very low birth weight babies (under 3.3 pounds) have had to make tough choices about their work life due to their baby’s health needs.
These choices often mean parents have to leave their job, which can result in losing health insurance or facing higher out-of-pocket healthcare costs, researchers noted.
“The lower the child’s birth weight, the more likely a parent was to make one of these decisions,” explained Dr. Erin Von Klein, lead researcher and neonatology fellow at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital in Nashville.
According to the study, published Oct. 28 in JAMA Pediatrics, about 20% of parents with very low birth weight babies have had one parent leave the workforce entirely to manage their child’s healthcare needs.
Dr. Von Klein explained her motivation for the study: “I noticed so many parents were either leaving the workforce, quitting graduate school or not finishing college when their infant received a diagnosis of medical complexity,” she said.
This decision can have long-term consequences on parents’ financial stability and career growth, impacting both them and their children over time.
Even parents of low birth weight babies (3.3 to 5.5 pounds) face challenges. Around 20% of these parents made work-related changes due to their child’s health, compared to 13% of parents of babies born at term.
Dr. Von Klein emphasized that the timing of having children before reaching economic stability can leave families financially vulnerable.
“Often people have children before they are in their economic prime, so if their baby has a lifelong medical complexity, the parents fall behind in the workforce,” she explained.
This impact on their careers affects not just the parents’ well-being but also has implications for their children’s health and future.