For some background, I gave birth to my daughter at a public hospital in Yokohama, Japan. The cost of giving birth depends on a lot of factors, such as whether you want an epidural or even have a c-section. Fortunately, for me and my husband, we are complete penny pinchers and try to save money where we can! So, without further delay, let's get into it!
GIVING BIRTH AND HOSPITAL STAY
By the grace of God, I was able to have an all natural, unmedicated birth. I only recieved an IV and an episiotomy. I also opted for a public room instead of a private room. Due to Covid, my family couldn't come. Also, due to my daughter's birth trauma, she wasn't with me during my hospital stay, so I'm really glad I didn't splurge on a private suite with wifi. I would have been all alone! Finally, I was able to leave the hospital 2 days early! So, that saved us a few hundred bucks. So, the invoice was for about 5,500 US dollars, but because of the government lump sum subsidy every resident gets, we only paid 80$ when I was discharged!
DAUGHTER NICU STAY
Due to a birth injury, my daughter had to be in the NICU for nearly two weeks. She stayed at two different hospitals and also had an MRI done. Sounds expensive, right? Well, we got the bill, and the total cost was... 18$!! Yup, that's it, and that 18$ was because of the formula the hospital provided and we rented pajamas and diapers for her! If we knew we could provide our own, we would have saved even more. Here in Japan, infant medical care is free for the first two years. Also, you can get 150$ a month in child support too from the government! Unfortunately, my family can only get one year of free medical care and 50$ a month because our income is too high, but it's definitely better than nothing!
LACTATION CONSULTANT
Due to not having Aki with me in the hospital, I never learned how to properly breastfeed. So, after her not gaining weight like she should and also with me developing a clogged duct. I opted for 母乳外来 or kind of a lactation consultant. I went three times and each session was 30$. So, the total cost was 90$.
TRANSPORTATION
We don't have a car, but it's not good to take newborns on public transportation, especially during a pandemic. So, we hired a car three times. Each time cost 75$. The total came to 225$.
MISCELLANEOUS
Due to preparing so much before she came, we really didn't need to buy anything new after her birth.
Manual Breastpump - 20$
Maternity pads - 7$
Hospital TV card - 10$
Prescription painkillers - 10$
Total Cost 460$
Now that everything is said and done, economically I would do it all over again! We spent under 3000$ having a baby. We also don't have any medical debt despite a two week NICU stay and subsequent hospital visits , so I'm quite content with my decision to give birth here in Japan!
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