The True Cost of Childbirth

First, there's the crib. And the just-right rocking chair. Then come the swaddle blankets printed with adorable forest creatures, the onesies with clever taglines, and your favorite books from childhood to pass along to a new generation. Having a baby is expensive, yes, but at least these credit card swipes are for the fun stuff.

What many soon-to-be parents don't realize is how much the cost of pregnancy—not the baby goods, but the medical side—is going to set them back. More than 3.6 million babies were born in 2020 in the United States, costing upwards of $50 billion, according to reporting by the New York Times. Pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care are the main reasons women actually utilize their health insurance plans—except their insurance plans aren't covering the entire bill.

Families themselves are shelling out a lot of those dollars. On average, an uncomplicated vaginal birth costs between $5,000 and $11,000, while C-section births range from $7,500 to $14,500, according to data from FAIR Health, a New York City nonprofit organization that collects information about healthcare costs.