Neonatal intensive care costs can be disastrous

Health care isn't cheap, but the costs associated with a child in an intensive care neonatal unit can be shocking.

"Average daily cost for care in the ICN in this region is $2,402.14 per day," said Marilyn Stockman, director of nursing at CoxHealth, the third largest delivering hospital in Missouri. That amount is based on Stockman's figures for the fourth quarter of 2002.

The national average, according to Stockman, is as much as $5,385.59 per day. She said while CoxHealth's average length of stay in ICN is 7.94 days, the national average is 17.05 days.

"Taking the mean results of both cost and length of stay $4,260.38 per day times 12.5 days equals $53,254.75 average cost. This does not include physician fees, specialist or follow-up care," Stockman said.

CoxHealth has averaged 3,556 deliveries of babies in the past five years, said Stockman. Of those deliveries 11.7 percent were premature babies.

"With today's technology and knowledge, we now manage prematurity from 20 weeks gestation to 37 weeks gestation. Term deliveries are anything over 37 weeks gestation. The more premature an infant is, the longer the hospital stay and the more chance for lifetime health issues," Stockman said.

Health issues can include long-term problems with vision, hearing, growth and neuromuscular functions, Stockman said.

"Preemies are at greatest risk to develop RDS or Respiratory Distress Syndrome with the development of hyaline membrane which impacts the lungs' ability to exchange the gasses we breathe," Stockman said.

Warmth and nutrition needs are some of the other ways the ICN helps premature infants.

According to Stockman, "A third of the preterm deliveries are a result of mothers' health issues during pregnancy." She listed hypertension, smoking and drug use among those issues.