U.S. preemie births still worst in developed world, after falling to 15-year low

If you are against universal health care, you are in favor of babies dying.

I guess opposition by conservatives to the Affordable Health Care law is because they are ardent environmentalists who want to keep population growth down. [sarcasm]

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/u-s-preemie-births-fall-15-year-low-still-worst-8C11511683

Sharon Begley Reuters
Nov. 1, 2013

The rate of preterm births in the United States dropped to a 15-year low of 11.5 percent in 2012, according to a report released Friday, but the country still came in dead last among industrialized nations on this measure of infant health.

The rate reflects six straight years of declines, possibly due to factors such as a drop in smoking among women of childbearing age, said the March of Dimes, the nonprofit group that produced the report.

The improvement comes during an acrimonious, partisan debate in Congress about health insurance centered on President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law.

The Affordable Care Act requires all insurance plans to cover maternity care, spreading the cost of healthy pregnancies across society.

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"We are the only high-income country in the world not to have everyone covered for maternity care," said Dr. Edward McCabe, medical director of the March of Dimes.

Before the ACA, "only 16 percent of plans in the individual market covered women for maternity care," McCabe said. "Requiring that coverage is a statement about our values as a society."

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The rate of preterm births peaked in 2006 at 12.8 percent, as women gave birth at older ages and were more likely to carry twins, triplets and higher multiples.

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The percentage of women in that age group who are uninsured also dipped, from 21.9 percent to 21.3 percent, government data show.

The decrease in preterm births should make a dent in health care spending: preemies cost the United States more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine, or $51,600 per preterm baby in 2005.

In the first year of life, medical costs for a baby born before 37 weeks gestation are 12 times those of one born at 40 weeks, a full-term pregnancy.

Those costs continue for years. Preemies can suffer developmental delays, vision loss and cerebral palsy, leading to higher educational costs and lost wages, said McCabe.

The drop in preterm births in the United States since 2006 means that about 176,000 fewer babies were born too soon, calculates the March of Dimes, for an estimated $9 billion savings in health and societal costs.

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