CNN: The average cost of medical care for a premature or low birth-weight baby for its first year of life is about $49,000, according to a new report from the March of Dimes Foundation.

By contrast, a newborn without complications costs $4,551 for care in its first year of life, the report said. Newborns with other kinds of complications, such as congenital defects, have medical expenses of $10,273 on average in the first year.

The foundation wants to show employers the importance of good maternity care, maternity coverage, and prevention of prematurity, said Jennifer Howse, president of the March of Dimes, a nonprofit for pregnancy and baby health.

"It's in the best interest of the bottom line for the employer, and of course it's certainly in the best interest for the baby, the employee, and ultimately the community in which the business is located," she said.

Although most of these costs go straight to the health care plans, even out-of-pocket expenses are far greater for premature babies than for children delivered at a normal time.

The average out-of-pocket expense for a premature or low-birth-weight baby in the first year was $1,987. For uncomplicated births, it is $654, and a baby with other kinds of complications averages $953 in out of pocket expenses.

But it's important to note that these are average costs for premature babies born at different times -- a baby born closer to 40 weeks will most likely cost much less than a baby born at 26 weeks, said William Sexson, neonatologist at Emory University and prematurity prevention chair for the March of Dimes for the state of Georgia. Sexson was not involved in the new report.

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