The cost of giving birth is getting more expensive—and some families are getting hit with childbirth debt

There’s no doubt that having kids is expensive—and those costs start ratcheting up at birth. A new study finds that people in the first year after having a baby accrue a lot more medical debt than those who are still pregnant. People in lower-income brackets are being hit hardest with childbirth debt, the study says.

Researchers compared medical debt from 14,560 pregnant people to 12,157 people who had a child within a year. Once families gave birth, they were more likely to have unpaid medical debt than those families who were still pregnant, showing that costs skyrocket during labor and delivery and newborn care.

“Our findings suggest that current out-of-pocket costs before and after childbirth are objectively more than many commercially insured families can afford, leading to medical debt,” lead author Dr. Michelle Moniz, MD, an obstetrician gynecologist at University of Michigan Health Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital and researcher at Michigan Medicine, said in a statement.

People who had babies within a year in lower-income neighborhoods had the highest likelihood of having medical debt, followed by pregnant individuals in lowest-income neighborhoods and then all other postpartum and pregnant people, suggests the research in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

People who had babies within a year in the lowest-income neighborhoods had a 28.9% higher chance of having medical debt in collections compared to a 23.2% chance if they were pregnant in the lowest-income areas. Other postpartum people in other areas had a 16.1% higher chance, and pregnant people in other areas had a 12.5% higher chance.

It’s not only the hospital stay that can have an impact on your finances. (A 2022 analysis found the average out-of-pocket cost to give birth with health insurance is $2,655 for a vaginal delivery, or $3,214 for a C-section—up from 2020 numbers.) The money it takes to care for a newborn—diapers, formula, childcare, and the like—are all factors that can cause families to fall behind on medical payments. It’s also important to include mental health support in that equation. (Rising costs from inflation surely aren’t helping, either.)

Another report out in May this year found that postpartum women experience higher levels of medical debt than other women. Women with chronic health issues and lower income may have a higher burden, that study said.

Reducing the costs of having a child

What can be done to help? The authors of the report say lower deductibles for those with lower household income or pre-deductible coverage that prohibits out-of-pocket spending for essential pregnancy and postpartum services may ease the financial burden on people.

“We know that financial hardship can negatively impact health—it is associated with delayed or deferred health care, mood disorders, and mortality among adults. No one wants these outcomes for new parents and infants,” Dr. Moniz said.