Has anyone ever thought how crazy expensive it has become to have kids in this country? I don't mean this post to come off as a rant, because Ryan and I were very blessed to be discharged early from the hospital and have the baby naturally, which drastically decreased what we have to pay, but I just want to point out how much things have increased as food for thought.
In 1942 my grandmother gave birth to her first child, Diana. For whatever reason, she was in the hospital for a week with Diana. It cost $50 if I've been told correctly. Now, many people might say "Yeah, but the cost of everything has gone up since then...50 was probably a lot back then." True...I agree, $50 would have been a lot of money back then, but being a history major I tried to find out what a poor wage would have been in the 1940s: 1,000 dollars would have been a poor wage. In 1942 my grandma was paying one-twentieth of their annual income for Diana's delivery etc. If Ryan and I had not had insurance to help a bit, we would have been paying one FOURTH of our annual income!! And that without $1,500 for an epidural, $2,300 for an additional day in the hospital and other pain medications. If that had been tacked on it would have been almost a third of our annual income!
My advice to anyone trying to save money with the birth of their baby (excluding circumstances such as where the baby has to visit the NICU or there are complications with the delivery)
1. If you can do it, don't get an epidural. It's about $500 for the shot and $1,000 for the anesthesiologist. I believe sometimes it's even harder for the husband than the wife, that is if you have labor like me. Ryan cried to watch me go through the pain, and if we weren't determined not to get an epidural, I think Ryan would've been the one to ask, not me. I was too busy trying to get through each contraction.
2. Labor at home as long as possible...it's almost $25 per hour.
3. If it's possible to leave the hospital early, do it.
I'm glad we were able to have Amy with fewer costs and am VERY grateful for it.
1 comment:
I agree, health care in this country is way messed up, and by messed up I mean highway robbery. One of the main reasons I prefer drug-free births is because of the cost. Insurance is a wonderful thing (I can't imagine paying for everything on our own, we would be paying for years).
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