What Is the Average Cost of Prenatal Care?

Part of having a healthy pregnancy is taking care of yourself through proper diet and exercise. Another part of having a healthy pregnancy is getting proper prenatal care. You can get your prenatal care through a medical doctor or a midwife, but either way, there are costs associated with it. If you've never had a baby and wonder what the average cost of prenatal care is, here's what you can expect to pay and what affects prenatal care costs.

Visits

The majority of prenatal care comes in the form of visits to a doctor or midwife. Both doctors and midwives follow the pattern of seeing a pregnant woman once every month during early pregnancy, once every two weeks during the last trimester, and once every week in the last month or so of the pregnancy. This usually works out to about 14 visits, each of which costs an average of $133 dollars---the total amount for visits thus is around $1,862. It is typical to pay about $2,000, depending on the variances in charges from provider to provider and state to state.

Tests

Most professionals who provide prenatal care recommend at least several tests. These include tests for Group B strep and gestational diabetes. Laboratory work on these tests often is not included in the cost of the prenatal office visit. These tests collectively usually run up charges of $1,000, but the cost can rise if the pregnancy is high risk (requiring more tests) or if the pregnant woman opts for optional tests such as those that detect genetic anomalies.

Ultrasounds

Ultrasounds usually are used during prenatal care to determine gestational age and to make sure that the physical structures of the developing baby are forming properly. Even if an ultrasound isn't done to determine gestational age, it is common practice to do an ultrasound at 20 weeks, with subsequent ultrasounds being done if a problem is found with the baby that needs to be monitored closely. Each of these ultrasounds costs between $160 and $360, with the average cost being $200.

Medications

Some women need to be on medications during their pregnancy. These medications can be related to iron or glucose levels, or they may treat a disease that the mother may have that should not be passed on to the baby. These medications can cost anywhere from $20 for a simple antibiotic to several hundred dollars, with generic brands being cheaper than name brands. Another medication that has to be factored is prenatal vitamins, which cost about $9 per month depending on the brand.

Considerations

In general, care from a midwife tends to be a bit cheaper than that from a medical doctor. This is because midwives generally do not do as many tests as medical doctors do. However, midwives still recommend tests when they feel there is a problem with the pregnancy, and they may recommend that their clients supplement their vitamins and visits with things like chiropractic care, herbal teas or creams, none of which is included in the cost of visits. Additionally, assistance and insurance programs can impact the amount paid for care---if one qualifies for an assistance program or has good insurance, then the cost of care drops significantly because some of the charges will be covered, either partially or in full.