How Much It Cost To Give Birth: The Anatomy of Our Hospital Bill

How much does it cost to give birth at Makati Medical Center? There is no straightforward way to answer this question because it depends on the particular birthing situation of each individual, but I will attempt to try to give a detailed description of what my bill looked like to help other pregnant women out there who are looking for info. My total bill was 7-pages long, with a summary on the first page, and a detailed list of all the things I paid for. If I were to simplify the components of the bill, I'd say they could be divided into the following categories: 1) Delivery Room Charges; 2) Room & Board; 3) Nursery; 4) Pharmacy, Central Supplies and Lab Tests; and 5) Professional Fees.

Signing paperwork in the birthing room.    
Delivery Room Charges constitute a huge part of the hospital bill.

1) Delivery Room Charges: This includes the use of the birthing room, the cost of using equipment, and all the materials and supplies used.  For 2 hours, the birthing room costs P3,465, with an additional P462 for every succeeding hour.  I used the delivery room for 2 hours preparation and 2 hours recovery, and 4 hours for labor, for a total of 8 hours (which means I paid P2,772 on top of the P3,465). Every companion you bring in also has a charge of P578/person.  I know of people who were in labor for much longer, and brought in more companions - so the cost of using the birthing room depends on how cooperative your cervix is :-D In addition, if you decide to use an epidural, you pay for the anesthesia (I paid P2,800); Then there's the use of equipment, such as the fetal monitor (P950), Infusion Pump (P808), Suction and Warmer (P800), and a host of other things like Criticare (P4,000), OB-Pack (P2,385), Espocan (P2,055), Supplies (P3,950), Sterile Instruments Pouch (P1,557), and for a Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery there's a fee of (P3,750). The rest of the bill listed small items like booties, gowns, thermometers, gloves etc. My total delivery room charges reached P30,000. I imagine it would cost more for a C-section. I got the biggest and nicest birthing room, so maybe there are cheaper options.

2) Room & Board: There's a range of options for private rooms, from the Small Private Room in the old wing (P3,220), to the newly renovated rooms (P4,700 or P5,200 depending on amenities). Cheaper than the small private would be the ward and semi-private options, but if you want privacy, the small private room is the most affordable option.  Those who want better rooms can opt for the large private rooms, or suites. A 3-day stay in a small private room can cost 9,660 - 15,600 depending on the room you choose. Some women choose to stay only 2 days, but with babies waiting for their newborn screening test to be administered 48 hours after birth, a 3-day stay is recommended, especially if mothers want to breast feed round-the-clock.  My room and board bill was at P9,660.  

Nursery Room & Board (P1,500/day). If your baby needs to be in the ICU it will cost more (P4,900/day).

3) Nursery Fees: Room and Board for the baby costs P1,500/day, and a typical stay is 3 days or P4,500. Other Nursery-related expenses include: the nursery service fee (P2,500), transport incubator (P500), and since we had our baby boy circumcised, we paid extra for the use of the circumcision room (P1,000), and use of radiant warmer to help heal his circ faster (P1,000). There were other items in the bill, such as the vaccination (P250 for the BCG), use of a BP Monitor (P240). The total costs reached around P10,000.  Note: If your baby has an infection, or is suspected to have one, a stay in the Neonatal ICU may be in order, in which case the costs would be different. The daily rate in the NICU is P4,900/day, and if your baby has sepsis, a 7-day stay to run a full course of antibiotics is the usual protocol - this may mean an additional P35,000 to your total bill, on room and board alone, not including the cost of tests and meds.

4) Pharmacy, Central Supplies and Lab Tests: Pharmacy. For my 3-day stay I had to use a number of medicines, from the oxytocin used to speed up labor, to the pain killers and antibiotics which were given to me round the clock by the nurses.  In addition to the medicine I needed, there was the stuff for the baby such as Terramycin eye ointment (P750), Sterile water, Lactacyd baby bath wash etc. The total bill from the pharmacy: P6,245. Then there was the bill from Central Supplies: Everything I used, from cotton balls to the "tabo" (dipper), bed pads and alcohol, to latex gloves, as well as the things baby needed - which is part of a newborn starter kit (P1,941)...all these are sourced from central supplies and in my case, added up to a total of nearly P4,000.   And finally, baby's Lab Tests: We had a lab fee for blood typing (P529), Hearing Test to check baby's hearing (P550), Newborn screening test for some dangerous diseases (600),    All three combined (Pharmacy, Central Supplies and Lab Tests) cost around P12,000.

My total hospital bill for Delivery, Room and Board, Nursery Fees, and Pharmacy/Central Supplies/Tests reached nearly P65,000 pesos, excluding professional fees.

5) Professional Fees: In my case, I had to pay 4 professional fees, namely: First, my OB's fees for delivering my baby; Second, my Anesthesiologist's fees for the epidural; Third, my Pediatrician's fees; and finally, my OB's fees for my baby's circumcision. The combined total of all my professional fees cost more than the hospital bill I outlined above. Without getting into detail, I suspect that the professional fees I paid were rather on the high side, but I knew this beforehand since this is my second baby to be delivered by the same team - I was just very happy with my OB and Anesthesiologist because my experience with them was textbook perfect, with absolutely no complications, and I am also super happy with my pediatrician.  It is hard to benchmark prof fees because it will depend on the specifics of your situation and your baby's. One way to find out the range of fees charged by your doctor is to ask from someone who's worked with them before, or, ask the secretary who schedules their appointments and ultimately prepares their receipts.

I understand that Makati Med has birthing packages that pegs both Normal and C-section deliveries within a particular price range, these are published in an info sheet available at the Admissions office in the ground floor. Not all doctors in Makati Med do these packages. If you're keen on delivering in Makati Med and would want to keep within budget, look for a Makati Med practitioner that does the package. The room for the package is semi-private.  If however, you are keen on working with a particular doctor, and that doctor you choose does not do the hospital birthing package, be prepared to pay more. (If you need a ball park figure just so you know how to plan and prepare, I figure that setting aside P150,000 should be sufficient for a normal delivery, this would leave you with enough elbow room for a few extras - like circumcision if you're having a boy - or a safety fund for in case your baby has an infection and would need to stay longer in the hospital).   

So how much would it cost to give birth in Makati Med these days? After my very long, and detailed sharing of my experience, I'd still say: it depends. It depends on how fast your labor is, and whether you'd deliver normally or via C-section, and how expensive your Professional fees are, what kind of room you get, and whether your baby will require more expenses (either for an infection, or for an extra procedure like circumcision).

Related Posts:

On Our Baby's Circumcision: A Mother's Point Of View
http://nikki-mama.blogspot.com/2011/09/on-our-babys-circumcision-mothers-point.html

Enjoyable Delivery at Makati Medical Center
http://nikki-mama.blogspot.com/2011/09/enjoyable-delivery-at-makati-medical.html