Our Pregnancy Expenses
And how having insurance helps
Hi!
Before I got married, my understanding of pregnancy and having a baby was pretty abstract. Of course I knew the science behind it, but in my head it was more like:
Step 1: You get to know you’re having a baby
Step 2: ????
Step 3: Baby
Going through the pregnancy phase changed that perspective very quickly, and I didn’t even do the heavy lifting. When I would see my wife being constantly in pain and being exhausted, I kept questioning if she’d still love me for what I did to her all those months ago. Thankfully, we have a healthy kid and she still doesn’t hate me.
Financials isn’t the first thing one thinks about during a pregnancy, and trust me, that’s the least of your concerns when you or your wife is in pain and tired and moody and complaining and hungry and sleepy and cranky. But I couldn’t find many personal blogs specific to India where folks talked about pregnancy expenses. So I thought I’d pen down how much we spent during ours.
Some caveats
We live in a relatively higher cost-of-living area of our city, so prices doctors and hospitals charge are higher.
We chose the hospital based on a friend’s recommendation, so we didn’t “shop around” for a hospital with the best price. We absolutely don’t regret the decision because our experience was great.
Our pregnancy was not completely smooth. Towards the end we had more frequent check-ups and a C-section during delivery.
Expenses
Doctor consultations
Our OB/GYN’s charges were Rs 850 per visit. Initially we visited her every four weeks, and transitioned to two weeks and then weekly towards the end of the pregnancy.
Consultation expenses - Rs 8,600.
Tests and scans
We had the usual pregnancy-related tests and scans, which got more frequent towards the end of the pregnancy.
Tests expenses - Rs 56,000.
Medicines
Medicines were mostly supplements like folic acid, iron and calcium.
Medicine expenses - Rs 8,700.
Delivery
Total cost - Rs 95,000.
Covered by employer’s insurance - Rs 80,000
Out of pocket expenses - Rs 15,000
Others
The hospital offered classes for exercises during different trimesters, labor preparation and lactation, which we attended. They also offered a package which provided discounts for consultations and delivery expenses, which we took.
Other expenses - Rs 10,000.
Total hospital expenses came to about Rs 98,300. There might have been a couple of bills I must have misplaced somewhere and other things like protein powder, maternity clothes which I didn’t include in this. So adding another 15% would make the total expenses around Rs 1.15L.
Insurance
Both my wife and I have health insurance provided by our employers, which covers child delivery. We decided to go with mine because she obviously would not be able to go through the bureaucratic headache of finding health ID cards, filling out forms and signing them after her surgery. And looking at the number of times I was called aside for different consent forms, billing issues and figuring out how to get an ID card for the baby, I think it was a good decision.
The insurance process was seamless though. I handed over some ID proofs and the health ID card provided by the insurer, and a 20k deposit for consumables not covered by insurance. And other than the forms, the hospital and insurer worked with each other for the rest. Given that the delivery was a stressful time for both of us, this was a big weight off our shoulders to pay the money and then get it reimbursed.
Cashless insurance. Me recommend.
Wrapping up
Hope that gives a basic idea of how much things cost in a metro with a private hospital. If you do have the option of cashless health insurance which covers child delivery, I highly recommend it. Things go by very quickly near the end of a pregnancy, and you wouldn’t want to spend any time figuring out how to handle its finances. You’ve got more important things, like a tiny human joining your family. Make the most of it.
Until next time!