Posted on January 17, 2009 - by PanzerGrenadier

Budgeting for Baby (Part 1 of 3)

Photo by jmsuarez

Children are a scarce commodity in Singapore. With our total fertility rate at 1.29, families are becoming smaller and children are getting fewer.

The impact of this is that each child who is conceived becomes the jewel of the crown, the apple of the family’s eye and the precious one who will inherit all when he or she comes of age.

A baby born is a mouth to be feed for the next 20 years or so. Since the birth of my daughter, I’ve come to realise how much it costs to feed, clothe and provide for her. I thought it would be interesting to share with you how much it can cost you if you are thinking of family planning as well as financial planning.

This series will cover three phases of the birth of a baby into the family:

1. Pregnancy stage (1st 9 months)
2. Birth and the first month
3. The first year

I’m currently coming to the end of the 1st year and it has been a challenging ride going through the ups and downs as well as the cash outflows (with some inflows courtesy of MCYS) related to my daughter’s birth.

Pregnancy Stage (1st 9 Months)

This is where after the “magic” happens as the celebrities on MTV’s Cribs programs like to talk about when showing off their bedrooms, the expenses start to come in with the first visit to the gynaecologist to confirm the pregnancy. :)

Choice of Gynae

The first major cost is the monthly checkups. Depending on your choice, the fees can vary between private hospitals and restructured hospitals. My own experience has been to budget $80-120 per visit. This may vary depending on your own gynae’s charges for professional consultation and medicine prescribed.

Maternity Ward and Hospital Related Charges

There are two components to this: ward charges and delivery fees. My own daughter was born in Mt. Alvernia hospital and they offer 2-3 day maternity packages that vary in price depending on the room. The ward charges range from as low as $1,106 for 4 bedder for normal delivery (without epidural) up to $4,166 for 3 days stay in family suite for Caesarean with epidural.

These are only the ward charges. You still have to pay for the delivery charges which includes the use of the delivery room and facilities charged by the hospital plus your own gynae’s fees plus anaestheticist’s fees. Another thing to note is that while your baby is in the hospital, you are expected to get a pediatrician to visit your baby each day. Per visit costs $100 so budget this as well. You can use medisave subject to some caps.

For comparison, my wife gave birth via caesarean with epidural and all in, it costs almost $10k because she stayed for 5 days and we had the single room. This was even though it was a normal delivery with no complications for my daughter.

Be sure to check your final bill because we noted double charging for one item in our bill due to a surgical consumable ordered by my wife’s gynae and issued by the hospital. It is chargeable to your final bill so scrutinise and take your time. Ask if you’re not sure what specific items are for.

Miscellaneous Expenses

Some wives will experience cravings for certain foods during pregnancy. If you are paying for your wife’s cravings, then you have to factor in the costs as well as maternity wear etc. We’ll discuss the baby stuff in part 2 of the series.

Money Saving Tips

If you are not fussy, accepting 2nd hand maternity clothes makes sense because your wife will only wear them for during the pregnancy so it may not be cost-effective to buy a large maternity wardrobe. Shopping around for gynaes by comparing prices through speaking with friends and colleagues may help. Choosing the right maternity package is also important factor.

Essentially, choose within your means and you should be fine.

How much did you or your spouse spend on maternity and ward charges?

Share with Panzer in the comments section.

Be well and prosper.

Source: Five Cents Ten Cents

Budgeting for baby series:
Budgeting for Baby – The First Month (Part 2 of 3)
Budgeting for Baby – The First Year (Part 3 of 3)

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