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How much does having a baby cost?

10 Money Saving Tips for Prenatal Care, Labor and Delivery

By , About.com Guide

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Mother with Newborn on her Chest

Mother with Newborn on her Chest

Photo (c) iStockPhoto

  • Twins on the way?
    Twins are tricky when it comes to medical costs. As soon as you know that you are having twins or other multiples call your insurance company. Ask if they can assign you to a case manager. This allows you the ability to call one person to handle your questions. Since being pregnant with multiples increases the risks of complications, though it does not mean that everyone will have complications, you could be looking at a much larger bill. Even if you only pay 10% of your bill, the difference between 10% of $7,000 for a vaginal birth at term and a bill of $200,000 for an extended NICU stay for premature babies is very big.

    Your case manager can let you know of special programs to help you stay healthy and increase the odds that your babies will go to term. She can also be your go to gal when it comes down to being charged multiple times incorrectly or, more commonly, having charges denied payment because it was already paid. Think of it like this, two babies, same problem, both get the same drug the same day. Your insurance thinks that the hospital is double billing and denies the second charge. Guess who gets to eat that bill?

  • Consider your birth attendant alternatives.
    Did you know that using a midwife may be less expensive? This is true regardless of your insurance status. The cost of midwifery care is a fraction of the cost of the care of other practitioners, mostly because they see only low risk women and they do not do high risk procedures like cesarean sections, forceps, etc.

    You may also find that your insurance covers some types of midwives. It may cover a certified nurse midwife in a physician's practice. Or it may cover all midwives in all practices. Talk to both the midwives you are interviewing about insurance costs and bill practices as well as your insurance company.

  • Where you give birth does matter.
    Birth center births and home births are typically less expensive than hospital births for a variety of reasons. The first is that there are no high risk procedures done, only low risk mothers are given this option. So you save money by not having to pay for those outright or even a fee because it's there in case you need it.

    Another big way that costs are kept down in these settings is the length of stay. With a home birth, you don't go in to any facility for your birth or postpartum care unless there are complications requiring a hospital. The typical stay at a birth center for postpartum care is usually about six hours.

    Some women have to pay out of pocket for this birth option. You can use flexible spending money to cover it with most plans. You can set up a payment plan. Some facilities and practitioners still barter. Even if your insurance says that they will not pay some mothers have been successful in submitting it to their insurance. It can take time and energy on your part but even a partial reimbursement is a good thing. Some states have mandated coverage for these options, your insurance company may not tell you this or the person you are talking to may not know. Be sure to ask the home birth practitioner or the people at the birth center.

  • Procedures at Birth
    One way to cut costs is to avoid costly procedures when possible. This can include epidural anesthesia and cesarean sections. You may also ask about early discharge from the hospital, say 24 hours rather than 48 for a vaginal birth.

    Some women will choose to do this while others will not. The good news is that you can try to avoid these and change your mind as needed. So let's say you decide to go without pain medications and half way through your labor change your mind, you can still do that.

  • Use a doula.
    Using a doula can help you lower the need for pain medications as well as help you reduce the need for some costly procedures. While the majority of doula fees are not covered by insurance, the small out of pocket price is worth it for many families. You can also ask a doula for a sliding scale and about bartering, as you could with all of your practitioners.

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