How much?

Peared

Not me for, not yet anyway

But..how much does having a baby in a private hospital cost? Ballpark anyway. With full health insurance. I have heard it still costs a bomb, how much is covered by the insurance?

Also, how much to get everything you need for babs, pram, cot etc. I realise you can pay what you want for these things but using average prices, how much would it cost to kit you out?

Grawns

$$$$ Millions $$$$

I'm going semi-private and I think with paying for private scans it should cost me about €1500. I heard for private it's anywhere from €4000(Public maternity hospitals) to about €10,000 ( Mount Carmel). VHI etc cover about €3000 and you get 50% back on your Med 1. So about €3500 I think.

As for the rest I'm hoping for hand me downs.
What is it with women and prams? It's comparable to men and cars:rolleyes:

Quality

I have gone public on my pregnancys, For me personally I feel there are better things that I can spend my money on.

The level of care is still the same. You may have to wait longer on visits but I am getting paid time off from work for them so I dont mind.

I have most things for the baby because my son is two, I may need to do up the nursery if I have a little girl though.

I think the last time round my buggy cost me €400 a three wheeler. And the Cot Bed and Changing Unit cost me around €500. I got the car seat from my sister and my friends chipped in for vouchers towards things ie, bouncing chair, feeding chair, breast pump.

LolaDub

I went private in the coombe and i think i spent about 3500-4000, not positive though. In my opinion it was worth it for the additional comfort i had (as i was very ill throughout my whole pregnancy) but there is a huge amount of costs to consider when having a baby. The private clinic at the coombe is at the back of the hospital, parking can be difficult but the interior is quite nice, divided up into smaller waiting rooms with couches, water, mags etc and smaller seating areas, good few bathrooms around too. When i had my baby i had my own room and was immediately sent down to a private room sharing a bathroom with one other room, staff were really nice and couldn't do enough for me. Not saying that public is any less care but i can only comment on my experience. I would definitely go private again.

If you're trying to keep costs down you could ask friends who have children if they want to get rid of anything. I have a pram with very little use taking up space in my attic now for a pregnant friend and can't wait to clear out the room getting rid of baby stuff will give. She also visited a good few charity shops and found some wonderful things brand new. Also the sales are happening now so not a bad time to start pricing. My pram/buggy cost 700 but my daughter grew very quickly so i didn't get the best use out of it. Cot and changer about 600, car seat 160, travel cot/playpen 130. Steriliser, bottle warmer bottles etc prob about 150? If you didn't mind asking your friends you could always tell them what you needed as baby presents or ask for vouchers from a certain store. I got so many tiny clothes from friends that were never worn and seems like such a waste. Good Luck!!

Sulukie

I went public with my pregnancy and with the exception of the number of scans I truly believe I got the same care I would have as a private patient. I never waited more than twenty minutes for an appointment. I chose my consultant, I didn't always see him usually someone on his team but he told me on my first visit that if there was any thing I was worried about or unhappy about to ask to see him personally, he was always at the clinic. I shared a room but I probably would even if I had gone private as there are very few private rooms at our local hospital. I really think it depends where you are you probably get more going private in some of the bigger dublin hospitals than you do down the country.

Sulukie

Peared

Thanks peoples. No immediate plans for a sprog but I had kind of assumed when the time came my health insurance would take care of it. Turns out not :mad:

LolaDub

Ha ha its pretty sad alright that no matter what health insurance you get it won't cover you. You would probably be well advised to contact your health insurance provider and ask for a list of what they do cover and what they don't, then contact the possible hospitals you might attend and do the same. Also each consultant charges different prices so maybe try find out the charges and try get recommendations on doctors from people who have already been there.

Good luck with it!