New Law in 2026 helps parents with premature babies stay at home longer

COLORADO SPRINGS, (KRDO)--A long list of new laws that are now in effect in Colorado. One of which is providing an added sense of security to parents who give birth to premature children. 

Across the United States, preterm birth rates and intensive care admissions have gone up. Since 2016, Colorado has seen around 11% increase in premature births. That's according to The National Center for Health Statistics, and in 2023, over 5,900 babies here were born early.

"Just seeing the amount of children come in and out of NICU and then knowing that these parents are having to pick between being present in the NICU or losing time for whenever they finally get to come home, and there is some kids that end up in the NICU for months," said Ravona Chirinos, mother of a NICU baby.

The new law gives parents an extra 12 weeks of aid when their child is moved to the NICU. It's additional time that Ravona says is crucial to provide parents the grace they need.

"For me I had to deliver her early because of undiagnosed pregnancy issues, and so just sitting there and not knowing like anything that was going to happen and know when she would get to come home they were saying she was possibly going to be in there for 8 weeks, so imagine those families that are coming in and they're delivering at 25 weeks or 26 weeks, that's an emotional stress", added Chirinos.

Now, when families apply for the Colorado Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, they will be able to choose the 12-week option for bonding with their new baby. Plus the additional 12 weeks for neonatal care leave. Adding a total of 24 paid weeks of leave. 

"They don't know the survival rate of the baby. The last thing they want to do is be at work because they want to be there enjoying as much time as they can with their baby, because they don't know the outcome of it. So I do think it'll take a major stress off of that because that provides additional time for them for the unexpected. But then they also still have that additional time afterwards to to enjoy with them when they get home, compared to having to wait on when they can use it. And they're not missing out on time on their kid's life," said Chirinos.

For more information on how to apply for this aid, you can visit the state's official website for those details.

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