The summed cost of prenatal care, childbirth, and newborn care came to $30,000 for a vaginal delivery and $50,000 for a caesarian section.In the United States, childbirth hospital stays have some of the lowest ICU utilisations. Vaginal delivery with and without complicating diagnoses and caesarean section with and without comorbidities or major comorbidities account for four of the 15 types of hospital stays with low rates of ICU utilisation (where less than 20% of visits were admitted to the ICU). During stays with ICU services, approximately 20% of costs were attributable to the ICU.A 2013 study found varying costs by facility for childbirth expenses in California, varying from $3,296 to $37,227 for a vaginal birth and from $8,312 to $70,908 for a caesarean birth.Beginning in 2014, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence began recommending that many women give birth at home under the care of a midwife rather than an obstetrician, citing lower expenses and better healthcare outcomes. The median cost associated with home birth was estimated to be about $1,500 vs. about $2,500 in hospital. Location
Childbirth routinely occurs in hospitals in many developed countries. Before the 20th century and in some countries to the present day, such as the Netherlands, it has more typically occurred at home.In rural and remote communities of many countries, hospitalised childbirth may not be readily available or the best option. Maternal evacuation is the predominant risk management method for assisting mothers in these communities.
The continuous support may be provided either by hospital staff such as nurses or midwives, doulas, or by companions of the womans choice from her social network.There is increasing evidence to show that the participation of the childs father in the birth leads to a better birth and also post-birth outcomes, providing the father does not exhibit excessive anxiety.Continuous labour support may help women to give birth spontaneously, that is, without caesarean or vacuum or forceps, with slightly shorter labours, and to have more positive feelings regarding their experience of giving birth. Continuous labour support may also reduce womens use of pain medication during labour and reduce the risk of babies having low five-minute Agpar scores. Preparation
Eating or drinking during labour is an area of ongoing debate. While some have argued that eating in labour has no harmful effects on outcomes, others continue to have concern regarding the increased possibility of an aspiration event (choking on recently eaten foods) in the event of an emergency delivery due to the increased relaxation of the oesophagus in pregnancy, upward pressure of the uterus on the stomach, and the possibility of general anaesthetic in the event of an emergency cesarean. A 2013 Cochrane review found that with good obstetrical anaesthesia there is no change in harms from allowing eating and drinking during labour in those who are unlikely to need surgery. They additionally acknowledge that not eating does not mean there is an empty stomach or that its contents are not as acidic.