“Dear parenting forum. I am a mom-to-be and I’m in a bit of a pickle. We’re having a baby and we’re not on a medical aid, so I was wondering (in this presumably safe and non-judgmental online space): are there any medical aids that will still let us sign up?” Fingers crossed, new mom-to-be
“Dear new mom-to-be: I am so sick of this same freaking question every week. Don’t have sex if you don’t have medical aid.” Lovies, Sanctimommy
This is exactly the response I was expecting (and I got it) when I browsed some of our local parenting forums two years ago, trying to figure out how on earth I was going to birth our baby. I wish I could say that I was a first-time pregnancy and had gotten knocked up by accident, and didn’t know any better – but it was our THIRD baby and I’d stupidly quit my corporate job to return to freelance, and then couldn’t keep up with the medical aid payments.
We had three options: terminate the pregnancy, go to public healthcare, or pay for everything ourselves.
Let me confide that I was desperately afraid of giving birth in a public hospital – there are just too many headlines about dead babies and unsanitary conditions (and yes, I acknowledge that not all state hospitals are created equal). I know, middle class tendencies.
That left us with two choices: a legal abortion, that costs between R3 000 and R4 000 in South Africa if you have it done before 12 weeks OR we could foot the bills for the entire pregnancy, birth, and any resulting complications ourselves. This can cost up to R50 000.
We went with option B. Why? Because we really wanted this baby. (Why, oh why can’t THAT be what people focus on when these poor first-timers are looking for help from other parents?)
This one is for you, new moms: a transparent list of exactly how much it costs to have a baby in a private hospital in South Africa (for a Caesarean birth)
– Gynaecologist check-ups and scans during pregnancy = R3 900
– Gynaecologist to perform to caesarean = R8 360
– Paediatrician (present at birth) = R2 530
– Anaesthetist (present at birth) = R2 500
– Three-night stay in private hospital = R23 900
– Blood tests for new baby etc. = R800
TOTAL: R43 790
Tips:
– Find out when the latest date is that you can pay the hospital and doctors in full. It is usually by 32 to 36 weeks, so you know how much time you have to pull the money together.
– Ask if there is a discount for paying early. Our gynaecologist gave us a 25% discount if we paid by 32 weeks. It would have cost us over R11 000 if not.
– Ask if there is a cash discount. We handed our anaesthetist an envelope of cash just before I was rolled into theatre. True story.
– Still get a basic hospital plan. You won’t be covered, but the moment your baby is born he or she will be. If anything goes wrong, you don’t want the extra burden of paying off neo-natal ICU bills.
– You paid for three nights in hospital. Stay for all three. Think of it as the most expensive hotel stay you’ll ever pay for.
This is what you are in for if you have a cash baby (and everything goes smoothly).
How did we scrape the money together? Unfortunately I don’t have any insider tips on how to hustle R43 000-plus. You could ask for help from your family, or take a loan (but those interest rates – yikes, maybe not).
We did it the old-fashioned way: we saved our pennies and took on extra work and second jobs until we had enough. Then sobbed into our keyboard when we made that massive EFT into the hospital’s account, as you do.
Totally worth it though.
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