We're #1! (In Most Expensive Country In The World To Give Birth, That Is)

[Initech]

If you're planning to give birth in the United States, be prepared to pay more than mothers-to-be in many other developed nations.

The cost of giving birth in the United States has tripled since 1996, and the nation's 4 million births each year now cost about $50 billion, according to The New York Times. The average price charged for pregnancy and newborn care was $30,000 for vaginal delivery and $50,000 for a cesarean section.

In countries such as Switzerland, Norway and France, the average cost of a vaginal birth is around $4,000, the Times reported.

"It's not primarily that we get a different bundle of services when we have a baby," Gerard Anderson, an economist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health who studies international health costs, told the Times. "It's that we pay individually for each service and pay more for the services we receive."

http://news.msn.com/us/why-does-it-cost-more-to-give-birth-in-the-us

Profit! Profit! Profit!

[still_one]

1. Not arguing your point, but what is the safest country to give birth in. By that I mean

Lowest mortality

[kestrel91316]

2. Definitely NOT the U.S.

[Hestia]

3. Forget now but I think it is the Scandinavian Countries where it is the safest

[still_one]

4. I would think so

[Art_from_Ark]

5. There are several countries with an infant mortality rate of 2 per 1000 live births,

which seems to be the lowest level. In the US, it is 6 deaths per 1000 live births:

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN

For maternal mortality, Estonia seems to be the safest country for expecting mothers, with only 2 women in 100,000 dying as a result of pregnancy or childbirth:

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.MMRT

[still_one]

6. Thanks