Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Are you financially prepared for a baby?

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New Delhi : Preparing for a baby isnt only about purchasing tiny clothes, diapers and mittens. It goes beyond watching the endearing ultrasound photos and counting baby kicks; baby planning involves a lot of financial preparation.

Priti Rathi Gupta, Founder of LXME, MD & Promotor Anand Rathi Group spells out the most crucial financial tasks that must be on your checklist from the onset of your pregnancy, including estimating your medical costs, planning leave from your job and budgeting for your new born’s arrival.

Save for medical expenses

The most obvious first step to take – start saving! Considering the exorbitant charges for medical check-ups and tests, and poor maternity benefits in health plans, it would be wise to keep aside a small amount each month in a liquid fund soon after you receive your good news. Don’t forget that with prenatal care, epidurals, and hospital stays, giving birth doesn’t come cheap

Keep your debt status in check

If you have a substantial debt figure before you have a baby, there’s a good chance it will swell once your baby arrives. The ideal scenario is to be debt free with probably just your mortgage because when the baby comes along, expenses are bound to shoot up. Ensuring your debt is under control will render you financially secure resulting in peace of mind and contentment. If debt is all you think about, it will be hard to focus on your family.

Prepare for Maternity Leave

Taking time off your job to bond with your new baby, heal your body and adjust to the changes in your family is extremely important. According to the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, women can take 26 weeks maternity leave. As per the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, women can commence their leave upto a maximum of 8 weeks before the expected delivery date and the remaining time can be availed after childbirth. Some couples also make use of their paid vacation or sick days once the baby arrives. Discuss with the HR department and understand your company’s policies with regards to this so that you can plan your leave accordingly.

Review your health insurance

You will need to include your new born to your health insurance policy, so take the time to review your policy now, while you are still free from baby duties. If you’re currently covered through your job, you can find out more from human resources, or talk to your insurance provider. It would be of use to note that even with health insurance, you might be responsible for some out-of-pocket expenses when it comes to childbirth and family coverage plans. By reviewing promptly you will have more time to clarify any doubts and start saving.

Study reveals how opioid use can trigger deafness

Opioid use, particularly in high doses, can be very harmful, say researchers, adding that opioid receptors in the inner ear can cause partial or full hearing loss.

Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and many others.

The study, published in The Journal of Medical Toxicology, reviewed records from the New Jersey Poison Control Centre from 1999 to 2018 to determine the association between opioid use and degrees of hearing loss.

The research team from Rutgers University (RU) in the US, identified 41 people with opioid exposure who experienced full or partial hearing loss or tinnitus, likely caused by toxicity to the ear. According to the team, more than half had used heroin, followed by oxycodone, methadone and tramadol; 88 per cent had only one known exposure.

The findings showed that most people reported the condition affecting both ears, with 12 people experiencing deafness, 15 partial or total loss of hearing acuity, 10 tinnitus and four a mix of symptoms.

While some people may regain their hearing, the loss could be permanent with others — 21 per cent of those reporting the condition had no improvement in hearing when they were discharged from the hospital.

“The delicate structures of the inner ear are very susceptible to injury if oxygen supply is insufficient, as well as to the direct effect of toxins like opioids,” said co-author Lewis Nelson from RU.

Although the study found a link with heroin, toxicity to the ear can occur with every opioid.

“This study supports what has been found in animal studies, which is that any opioid can cause hearing loss,” said study author Diane Calello from the New Jersey Poison Control Center. “This might be because we already have built-in opioid receptors, or binding sites, in the inner ear. Activating them may trigger this injury in some patients,” she said. (IANS)

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