Since she happens to be royalty, the cost of childbirth is likely the last thing on Kate Middleton’s mind as she (and the rest of the world) anxiously awaits the arrival of Britain’s next heir to the throne.
The private maternity wing at St. Mary’s Hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge will deliver (the same one where Princess Diana gave birth to William and Harry) reportedly requires a £5,500 ($8,300) deposit—pocket change for a princess.
While the Duchess’ delivery will be more posh than most, her countrywomen who give birth in more traditional digs will see far lower costs than their American counterparts.
British mums-to-be pay less than a third of what American women pay, according to a recentNew York Times article. The cost of delivering in America last year was $9,775 for a conventional delivery, versus just $2,641 in Britain. The typical cost for a caesarean section in the U.S. ran $15,041 last year, compared to $4,435 in Britain.
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Women in the U.S. face by far the highest childbirth costs among women in developed countries. Switzerland comes in a distant second with costs of $4,035 for conventional delivery and $5,186 for a Caesarean.
Those numbers, however, represent only the typical amount paid by U.S. women with insurance, which is significantly lower than the actual cost charged to insurers. In 2010 the average amount billed to insurers was $27,866 for C-sections, and $18,329 for conventional births, according to a report by the Childbirth Connection.
That study found that the cost of maternal care in the United States increased by more than 40 percent between 2004 and 2010 for commercially insured women, and that cost was nearly 50 percent higher in some states than in others. The average payment by insurers in Louisiana for a conventional birth was $11,962, versus $21,307 in California. The largest share of those costs go to hospital or other facility costs, which comprise 59 percent of total costs in conventional births and 66 percent of costs for C-sections.
Part of the reason for the high price tag is the high cost of liability insurance for Obstetricians and Gynecologists, who pay the second-highest premiums (after neurosurgeons), and spend an average of 15 percent of their careers fighting malpractice claims. As a result, 1 in 7 ob-gyns have stopped delivering babies.
Meanwhile, the high cost of giving birth in the United States does not correlate to better maternal health. Maternal mortality more than doubled from 1987 to 2006, and women in the U.S. have a higher risk of dying from pregnancy-related complications than those in 40 other countries, according to a 2010 report by Amnesty International.
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When it comes to the cost of raising a child once the family returns from the hospital, it actually costs slightly less in the United States than in England. A report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that the cost of raising a child born in 2011 through age 18 would run $234,900. By comparison, a similar report by British insurer LV= found that raising a child across the pond totals £169,613 ($256,000).
Getting back to the royal baby, no matter how much Will and Kate spend on raising the newest member of their family will pale in comparison to the boost that baby will give to the overall U.K. economy. Royal watchers expect Britons to shell out a whopping £243 million ($367 million), on champagne, memorabilia and food for parties.
