Reija Eden delivered each of her three children without requiring cesarean sections, pain medications or an epidural.
The 34-year-old mother from Huntington Beach, Calif who owns Reija Eden Jewelry paid about $5,000 for each of her children's births out of pocket, after insurance.
"With pain medication, the costs would have been a lot higher, so luckily I didn't need them, nor did I need a C-section," Eden says.
The cost of having a baby delivered at a hospital can vary wildly depending on how the birth goes. If mothers want an epidural, the hospitals will charge for the medication and for the cost of an anesthesiologist to come to administer it. C-sections are considered major surgery, and costs significantly more than a vaginal delivery.
According to the most recent data provided by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, the average cost of delivering a baby vaginally was $9,617 in the U.S. in 2009, and $15,799 for babies delivered via C-section.
The costs also vary greatly depending on the hospital and state. To determine our state-rankings of the most expensive places to have a baby, we went through the most recent data provided by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and looked at average hospital charges for vaginal and cesarean deliveries.
There was only data available for 35 states, but the sample was large enough for us to see how the cost of having a baby can differ depending on where you live. You can see more about the methodology and the list of states included here.
New Jersey is the most expensive state to have a baby. The average hospital charge for a vaginal delivery in New Jersey is $18,372 — 91 percent higher than the national average. The average C-section in New Jersey costs $26,743, 69 percent higher than the national average.
Of the 35 states we looked at, California ranks second as the most expensive ($14,523 for the average vaginal delivery, $24,777 for C-section), and Florida ranks third ($10,435 for the average vaginal delivery, $18,574 for C-section). At the bottom of the list: Maryland. Hospitals in Maryland charge an average of $5,509 for vaginal deliveries and $6,812 for C-sections — well below the national averages.
Of course, if you have insurance, you won't have to pay these huge sums, and even people without insurance can see discounts on their hospital bills.
"I had a great HMO plan," says Monica Brady, a mother of twins who runs the site Mommy Brain Reports. "My OB vistas and the delivery were 100 percent covered, and I didn't have a co-pay for any of it. My girls were both delivered via C-section, so we were very lucky."
Although parents may not be able to control what hospitals will charge them to deliver their baby, they can control what it costs to have a baby once their little one is home.
"I wanted to keep the costs down by shopping at IKEA for baby furniture, while spending more for items such as a hospital grade breast pump and high quality high chair," Eden says. "The breast pump cost about $500 and the high chair was about $150. Both items lasted to three children so I consider money well spent there.
Since I breastfed all my children, I didn't have to spend money on formula. I chose to spend more money on natural diapers though, and only bought Seventh Generation diapers for our babies. I also spent more money on high quality organic baby food and other organic baby items such as toys, cleaning supplies and laundry detergent to ensure that our children wouldn't be exposed to chemicals at such a young age."
Jessica Katz, who runs the blog Mommy Don't Buy That, says it's perfectly okay to buy used. She suggests buying new car seats, but used strollers, doing toy and clothes trades with friends, and shopping at consignment stores.
"I know you want to dress your kid like a doll, but they outgrow so fast, so find sales," Katz says.
"Buy early," Brady says. "I love finding clothing on clearance. Usually, I'll find the previous season's fashions on clearance, and I'll buy them up a size or two bigger than what my girls wear now. By the time next year rolls around, they're taller and I don't have to make any last minute dashes out to buy a new coat at full price. Also, search around and you'll find a lot of free samples through diaper companies, infant formula companies, and more. Don't hesitate to call [companies'] customer service lines to ask."
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