How to Have a Baby Without Health Insurance

Having a baby can be very expensive, but many people rely on insurance to cover most of the costs. However, if you find yourself pregnant without health insurance, the costs of having a baby may seem insurmountable. Luckily, there are ways to reduce the costs of having a baby or to get help covering the costs of having a baby.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Contact your state's Department of Health and Human Services or your local social services agency. There are often government programs, such as Medicaid, that help women who are pregnant without health insurance to pay for pre-natal care as well as labor and delivery. However, there may be income limits to qualify for these programs. If you already have an OB/GYN, he/she can help you understand your options.

2. Consider using a midwife. If your income is too high to qualify for a government program, using a midwife at a birthing center or even having a home birth can save you a lot of money over having a hospital birth.

3. If you haven't yet seen a doctor to confirm your pregnancy, it may not be "official" yet. There have been cases where women have gotten health insurance before their pregnancy was "official", but after they were pregnant and had it cover the costs of their pregnancy. However, this is risky and you need to ask a lot of questions and get as much information as possible before proceeding. Some health insurance plans have a waiting period from the start of your health insurance policy until it will cover a pregnancy.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are planning on having a baby and have health insurance or plan to get health insurance before having a baby, be sure to check if your policy has a pregnancy waiting period.