Updated for 2026
Once you start thinking about starting a family, you start daydreaming about the baby 😍. But this dream can be expensive 🤷🏻♀️, and the cost depends on where you live and whether the healthcare there is free or not.
Today, we are going to understand the cost of having a baby in the USA, UK, and Canada. So let’s dive in.
Let’s put it very simply:
➡️ USA: having a baby in the USA is the most difficult because many people have to pay money out of pocket
➡️ UK: Free for most people who are using the NHS, but if you are going for a private hospital, then it is going to cost a lot
➡️ Canada: if you are a resident, then it is free for you unless you are going to a private hospital. However, it’s not as simple for non-residents.
A Detailed Overview
USA Pregnancy Cost (Insurance Confusion and High Cost)
➡️ Most expensive
➡️ $20,000 = Total medical cost of your pregnancy and delivery if you have no insurance
➡️ With insurance: still, it’ll cost $2,500–$4,000
Why is the USA expensive?
Because you’re billed for:
⬛ Pregnancy checkups
⬛ Ultrasounds
⬛ Tests
⬛ Your hospital stay
⬛ Epidural charges
⬛ Delivery
⬛ Newborn care
👍🏻 Every hospital has different charges for the above-mentioned procedures.
The most important thing is that the USA gives no guaranteed paid maternity leave nationwide, due to which many mothers have to take unpaid time off, and this means that you have to spend your savings 🤷🏻♀️.
UK Pregnancy Cost (Approximately Free Under NHS)
Good news if you live in the UK and use the NHS, then pregnancy and giving birth is mostly free for you.
Here is the list of what NHS covers for free:
⬛ Checkup appointments
⬛ Ultrasounds
⬛ Birth (in the hospital)
⬛ C-section
⬛ Newborn checkups
Why do you still need money?
⬛ Private delivery ➡️ £15,000–£25,000
⬛ Private maternity care
⬛ Extra pregnancy scans or tests
⬛ Private rooms
➡️ Maternity leave: Again, good news, my fellow mamas, because you can get up to 52 weeks of maternity, and half of it is paid.
Canada Pregnancy Cost (Free for Residents)
What Canada covers in public healthcare for its residents:
⬛ Pregnancy checkups
⬛ Birth (in the hospital)
⬛ C-section
⬛ Postnatal care
➡️ If you are a Canadian who has provincial health insurance, then you might not have to pay anything for hospital care.
So when does someone who is pregnant in Canada have to pay:
⬛ You are in Canada but not a resident, or you do not have health insurance
⬛ If you ask for private rooms or some extra services
⬛ Some specific pregnancy tests are not covered
For non-residents in Canada:
➡️ Normal delivery = $5,000–$8,000 CAD
➡️ C-section = $10,000–$15,000 CAD
➡️ Maternity leave: Well, let me tell you that Canada has one of the best maternity leave systems. You can receive 55% of your earnings, which is about $695 a week.
On the last note, with all of this, you still have to save some money because you will need them for this:
⬛ Baby essentials
⬛ Prenatal vitamins and classes
⬛ Childcare
Hi. I’m Falak. Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found the information you were looking for in this article. Please subscribe to my newsletter, and for freelance services, contact me at [wironvirtualhub@gmail.com](mailto:wironvirtualhub@gmail.com).
