Know the costs associated with pregnancy and childbirth in India

livemint.com:

Mint spoke with some parents to understand how they finalized their hospitals and how much they paid in hospital costs at the time of delivery. Metro charges Niranjan Avasthi, senior vice-president, Edelweiss Asset Management Company, 39, who resides in the suburbs of Mumbai, says he and his wife Sharvari opted for Mamta Maternity Home located near their house for his second baby’s delivery. The baby was delivered in June 2021.

“The hospital was in the neighbourhood and well-equipped. It was also run by my wife’s gynaecologist ," he says. The gynaecologist also practiced in Apollo Hospital, but that was relatively far from the Avasthis’ residence and would have been relatively costlier.

Avasthi says since his first child was born by Caesarean (or C-section), the doctor had advised the same for their second child. The hospital quoted a total package of ₹1.24 lakh, inclusive of ₹65,800 for surgery and an air-conditioned single room for four days of stay. However, half of this amount was covered by his company’s group health insurance policy.

Mumbai-based Sagar Poddar, 35, a finance professional, had many more variables to consider when deciding on the hospital as his wife Aayushi was going through a complicated pregnancy. Their baby was delivered by a C-section in July. “We were told it would be a premature delivery.

So, we needed a facility that had NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) level 3 and one that was close by as my wife was advised against travelling too much," Poddar says. The couple finally narrowed their choice down to two hospitals near their residence—Cloud 9 and Aarogyam. Poddar says he preferred the latter for several reasons.