Glad I Read This Now...

[martian687]

I've been paying out-of-pocket for private insurance since Interbots went full-time, back in 2006. Good thing a baby hasn't been in my plans.

I had always assumed if I got pregnant by accident I would have a choice, but a $500 pill from planned parenthood vs. a $22K delivery is not really a choice when you've got < $1000 in your bank account. I

Comments

[linley]

This chart is useful: http://childbirthconnection.org/pdfs/birthcharges.pdf. The $20K+ numbers usually refer to c-sections after a mother has labored in the hospital for some time, because then you have the charges for all the interventions/physician time/etc. that happened before the c-section in addition to the surgery. A c-section is major abdominal surgery, and is correspondingly expensive.

I'm not finding a lot of info on charges for specific procedures, though evidently an epidural generally runs $700-$1200. Many women receive pitocin or other drugs to induce contractions; pitocin can be on a continuous drip for hours and hours. I can't find a price for pitocin; one website simply listed it as $$$$. Pitocin is also often administered after birth to promote expulsion of the placenta and tightening of the uterus. Some mothers receive IV antibiotics during labor to treat Group B strep. Many women have saline IVs (supposedly to keep them hydrated, but other, more ridiculous reasons are often involved). Artificial rupture of membranes, continuous fetal monitoring, forceps, vacuum, episiotomies, repair of any tears after the birth (with local anesthetic), and so on all have their costs. Nurses watch over patients most of the time; docs often only show up when the woman starts pushing, but they have to be in the hospital, so I'm not sure how that gets charged. There's also the charge for the room (women usually stay 1-2 days after a vaginal birth, longer after a c-section). I bet that labor rooms with tubs and other amenities are more expensive.

I don't think that these cost estimates include care of the newborn. More and more hospitals are promoting rooming in, where baby stays in the same room with mom, but some babies stay in nurseries still (with related costs). Newborns also are subjected to a battery of tests and procedures in their first day or two of life. I've seen estimates that newborn care runs $1000-$2000, usually billed separately from the birth.