Epidurals
Moderator: Marduk
Re: Epidurals
Not related to childbirth, but every time I see the show House, M.D. and that pack of expensive specialists puts hours upon hours of their time into a case, along with multiple expensive diagnostics, administrations of medicine, and the occasional unneeded major surgery or two, on top of the high daily cost of simply being in a hospital bed, all on an uninsured junkie or blue-collar worker, I imagine the looks on their faces when they get the bill.
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.
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Re: Epidurals
I did not have an epidural, but I did have Pitocin and Cervadil and Motrin after the birth. I was in labor for 24 hours and stayed the maximum length of time my insurance would let me, which I think was 3 days after birth. But maybe it was 2. Time is blurred during that first week. Everything hospital cost me $2000. Midwives cost me, I think $250. Everything else was covered by insurance.Yarjka wrote:Okay, someone help me out here: how much do medical bills cost, on average, to have a baby in the U.S. (assuming you have insurance)? We had our baby in Canada, so the idea of paying extra for an epidural just seems very wrong to me.Hypatia wrote:One final con to epidurals:
- $$$$
Just to throw it out there, the birthing center I've been looking at would cost $2000 total (including the pre-natal and post-natal checks) if I did it there or $1800 if I birthed at home. And they say that many insurances will cover them as out-of-network if you do the proper paperwork and such. (Which they'll check your insurance to see if they'll cover anything for you for $25.)
Re: Epidurals
I have been reading the entire discussion. Fascinating.
Re: Epidurals
Laser Jock wrote:Ah, but don't forget that insurance is necessary before having children, so this probably isn't as big of a factor. (This is a joke. I just thought it would funny if these two highly-argumentative threads cross-pollinated.)Hypatia wrote:One final con to epidurals:
- $$$$
Not quite. Even with insurance my friend just paid 3600 in costs for his wife's impending birth. And that's not including any fees that may arise for epidurals or C-sections or other things. Without insurance it would cost much, much more.
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Re: Epidurals
Though somewhat tangential, I can say that C-sections have improved considerably in the past couple of decades. And electing to have one helps assure the quality of the surgery, whereas an emergency one tends to be much more traumatic.Eirene wrote:Here's an interesting fact that wasn't really pertinent enough to the question for me to include in an answer:
One well-known study (Al-Mufti, 1997) found that 31% of female OBGYNs (in the UK, where they conducted the study) would choose an elective C-section for themselves, even if there were no pregnancy complications or medical indications for one. To be fair, in similar studies in some other countries around the same time period, that number was in the single digits, but really, one out of three would choose an elective c-section for themselves? That is no insignificant minority. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if that number was higher now.
I realize that my opinion on this may change as I go though med school and subsequent training, but I'm really fine with a well-educated patient choosing to have an elective c-section. Yes, it's a big-a surgery, but it's worth remembering that vaginal birth can have long-term, negative complications for mother or for baby.
He who knows others is clever;
He who knows himself has discernment.
He who overcomes others has force;
He who overcomes himself is strong. 33:1-4
He who knows himself has discernment.
He who overcomes others has force;
He who overcomes himself is strong. 33:1-4
- Dragon Lady
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Re: Epidurals
And not having one at all is probably the least traumatic.Tao wrote:Though somewhat tangential, I can say that C-sections have improved considerably in the past couple of decades. And electing to have one helps assure the quality of the surgery, whereas an emergency one tends to be much more traumatic.
Re: Epidurals
Not having a C-section if you needed one (i.e., in an emergency situation) would be pretty traumatic.Dragon Lady wrote:And not having one at all is probably the least traumatic.Tao wrote:Though somewhat tangential, I can say that C-sections have improved considerably in the past couple of decades. And electing to have one helps assure the quality of the surgery, whereas an emergency one tends to be much more traumatic.
Re: Epidurals
If we are presenting epidural cost as a con in that category, we need to compare specifically what an epidural costs, with and without insurance. The other costs aren't really relevant to that point (although I admit they still interest me. Having a kid is so expensive.)
Deus ab veritas
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Re: Epidurals
Unassisted childbirth is free.
- Laser Jock
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Re: Epidurals
I dunno; what about water to fill your bathtub (or whatever) if you're doing a water birth? What about dirtying (or perhaps using and disposing of) cloths to clean up? What about to dispose of the afterbirth?Dragon Lady wrote:Unassisted childbirth is free.
(Sorry, just trying to get into the spirit of the thread here. Hopefully my pedantry isn't too over-the-top. )
Re: Epidurals
Go back to the insurance thread. Sheesh, you guys are so snarky.Laser Jock wrote:I dunno; what about water to fill your bathtub (or whatever) if you're doing a water birth? What about dirtying (or perhaps using and disposing of) cloths to clean up? What about to dispose of the afterbirth?Dragon Lady wrote:Unassisted childbirth is free.
(Sorry, just trying to get into the spirit of the thread here. Hopefully my pedantry isn't too over-the-top. )
(Oh no, did I just prove Hypatia prophetic?)
- Dragon Lady
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Re: Epidurals
No, because you're not a writer. So you only proved her semi-prophetic.C is for wrote:Go back to the insurance thread. Sheesh, you guys are so snarky.Laser Jock wrote:I dunno; what about water to fill your bathtub (or whatever) if you're doing a water birth? What about dirtying (or perhaps using and disposing of) cloths to clean up? What about to dispose of the afterbirth?Dragon Lady wrote:Unassisted childbirth is free.
(Sorry, just trying to get into the spirit of the thread here. Hopefully my pedantry isn't too over-the-top. )
(Oh no, did I just prove Hypatia prophetic?)
Re: Epidurals
Thanks for the information on cost. That's very informative (even if only anecdotal). It helps me plan for future children we may want to have after returning to the states (and maybe provides incentive to have as many kids as we can while we're still in Canada - I'll have to see how my wife feels about that, though ).
Re: Epidurals
Just don't plan on any of your kids running for president . . .Yarjka wrote:Thanks for the information on cost. That's very informative (even if only anecdotal). It helps me plan for future children we may want to have after returning to the states (and maybe provides incentive to have as many kids as we can while we're still in Canada - I'll have to see how my wife feels about that, though ).
Re: Epidurals
The idea of someone making costly decision without assuming any of the extra cost seems wrong to me.the idea of paying extra for an epidural just seems very wrong to me
Re: Epidurals
I actually looked into that. That's sort of a myth, it turns out. George Romney ran for President even though he was born in Mexico. As long as both parents are American citizens, there's really no reason the children can't be President.Katya wrote:Just don't plan on any of your kids running for president . . .Yarjka wrote:Thanks for the information on cost. That's very informative (even if only anecdotal). It helps me plan for future children we may want to have after returning to the states (and maybe provides incentive to have as many kids as we can while we're still in Canada - I'll have to see how my wife feels about that, though ).
Re: Epidurals
So the Obama "birther" issue only comes up because his dad wasn't a US citizen? (Also, Romney's eligibility to run for president was at least questioned: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_bo ... questioned )Yarjka wrote:I actually looked into that. That's sort of a myth, it turns out. George Romney ran for President even though he was born in Mexico. As long as both parents are American citizens, there's really no reason the children can't be President.Katya wrote:Just don't plan on any of your kids running for president . . .Yarjka wrote:Thanks for the information on cost. That's very informative (even if only anecdotal). It helps me plan for future children we may want to have after returning to the states (and maybe provides incentive to have as many kids as we can while we're still in Canada - I'll have to see how my wife feels about that, though ).
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Re: Epidurals
I think I'm a little late to the cost discussion, but I just want to point out that the cost of birth varies A TON, depending on your insurance provider. On the high end, I've heard of deductibles in the $7000-8000 range. On the low end, I've heard of 100% coverage for a normal birth. Amazing? Yes it is.
Re: Epidurals
After telling my wife about the monetary incentive to have more children in Canada, she responded, "You really are a tightwad if you're going to push me to have more kids just because we'll save a few thousand bucks." I agreed with her and we've moved on
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Re: Epidurals
I plan on avoiding epidurals, simply because my aunt has chronic back pain caused by one being improperly administered. I realize this isn't really common, and she did go on to have more children and more epidurals, but it scares me enough not to want one. Granted, I'm still a few years off from actually having to make that decision and may change my mind by that point.