EON

London – Did you know that every year in the UK the cost of having a premature baby is £939 million dollars and rising, in the UK there are more than 80,000 babies born premature and half of them will spend their first few months in the NICU, Babies that are born before the 38 wk mark need constant monitoring and can have serious complications including lung problems, disability, or other handicaps that can have long term effects in the babies development, not to mention babies in the NICU can put a physical and mental stress on the parents as well as the baby.

Research has found that mothers who are overweight and or smoke ( to name a few ) are more likely to have a baby earlier then the full term, staying at a healthy weight, not smoking or drinking can reduce this chance of prematurity almost by half. The avg. cost of a baby born at term through the next 18 years, estimated cost would be at about £41,813, compared to a premmie estimated at £61,391. In delaying premature births by a week could save £260m per year in the UK.

All woman should have a monthly checkup while pregnant and closer to the due date should have one every week.