Maternity Cost

Maternity cost in the modern, super-separated, ultra-medicalized paradigm could be described as a huge money pit. You spend large sums of money on doctor's visits, a number of tests that you don't actually need, a hospital stay, and possibly additional costs for avoidable or even unnecessary medical procedures. Then you have all the little extra costs of being in the hospital like a simple ibuprofen capsule at $10 a pop instead of $5 a bottle. On top of that you have all the baby things to buy: a crib with sheets, blankets and bumpers; a stroller; boxes and boxes of disposable diapers; anywhere from ten to thirty bottles; a dozen cute little outfits; a stroller... The list just goes on and on!

But a healthy pregnancy and birth don't need to be so expensive, and in fact some of the healthiest choices are the least expensive.

Pregnancy care

Right off the bat, if you choose to get your prenatal care from a midwife instead of an obstetrics office, your costs will be considerably less. An entire homebirth including prenatal care can cost as little $8000 as opposed to $20,000 or more for a hospital birth with an obstetrician in attendance.

For healthy pregnancies and labor, you don't need half of the expensive treatment you get with medicalized childbirth. According to several scientific studies, you don't need ultrasounds at all, except in a few medically necessary cases. In fact, one study suggested that ultrasounds may actually increase the risk of intrauterine growth retardation.

Before you take any test during pregnancy, you should consider your risk factors for the thing you are testing for and then consider how the test will help you resolve that problem, and finally weigh that against the risk that the test itself will cause a problem. For this reason, if you have no intention of terminating a pregnancy that has a genetic problem, you may decide that an amniocentesis in unnecessary even if you are over 35 years old. On the other hand, if you are older or have had previous children with a high birth weight, it's a very good idea to get the gestational diabetes test, as that is a condition which you can manage throughout your pregnancy, giving you and your child better health.

Delivery

On the day that you give birth, there are a number of expensive machines and procedures which are nearly always unneeded. You don't need to be strapped to a monitor to insure progress of your labor. You can feel your contractions, and an experienced nurse or midwife can listen to your baby's heart with a stethoscope and check you for dilation manually as needed.

If you've had a healthy pregnancy without complications, you don't need a hospital environment at all. In fact some studies suggest that you are more likely to have a trouble free, healthy delivery if you stay at home. So, instead of spending money on the hospital you could save money and be healthier!

No matter who your prenatal care provider is or where you choose to give birth, be an active participant in your health. Ask questions, make your own decisions, and don't accept the word of a professional who acts like a demigod or benevolent dictator.

Maternity costs do not have to break your bank to be the best possible care if you take a conscious parenting route in pregnancy and childbirth.