Prenatal care cost is an important consideration, irrespective of whether you are insured or not. This article briefly discusses the approximate cost of prenatal care.
You should plan for the entire cost of prenatal care well in advance. If you have an insurance, you will not have to spend a penny more. In the US, every pregnant woman avail the benefits of a health insurance; however, there some women who are not insured. According to statistics, 13% of pregnant women in the US are uninsured. Approximately, the average cost of having a baby goes up to USD 8000. The cost may increase with the increase in complications during the childbirth.
Average Cost
The very first cost incurred during pregnancy are the fees for the doctor’s visit. The pregnant woman visits the doctor once every month for the first six months. In the seventh and the eight month, she visits the gynecologist twice a month. In the ninth month, she has to visit the doctor once a week. So, on an average, the mother-to-be has to visit the doctor 14 times during the whole pregnancy period. This count can increase if there are complications in the prenatal period.
The average cost of one visit to the gynecologist is around USD 130. Hence, the total cost of all the visits goes up to USD 1820. These expenses do not include the various blood tests, ultrasound tests, and other prenatal tests which are conducted. The major part of the prenatal cost is the visiting fees of the doctor. In addition, these charges can vary from state to state.
Blood tests and ultrasound tests incur the next part of the prenatal expenses. Ultrasound tests are necessary to know the gestational age and structure of the baby. This test is to be performed after 20 weeks. The next ultrasound tests are done only if the doctor thinks that the baby needs to be supervised.
The average cost of the test is around USD 190. Then comes the cost of the childbirth, which can have four possibilities viz., vaginal delivery without complications, vaginal delivery with complications, C-section delivery without complications, and C-section delivery with complications. The cost increases with the number of complications. Also, the C-section delivery is more expensive compared to the normal vaginal delivery.
The cost of normal vaginal delivery without complications is approximately USD 6000, while the vaginal delivery with complications can reach an approximate figure of USD 8000. The average expense of a C-section delivery without complication goes up to USD 12,000, while the C-section delivery with complication may cost you approximately USD 16000. These are only the charges of the delivery, excluding the room charges.
There are additional charges of medicines and prenatal supplements like, prenatal vitamins, which are recommended by doctors to many women. Also, these expenses may vary from state to state and doctor to doctor.
Disclaimer: This HerHaleness article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.
