No one's surprised that babies can be expensive. But a lot of people are surprised how early that is true. It starts the moment you get that BFP, and continues on through delivery. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average typical pregnancy runs about $2000-$3000 just for the run of the mill doctors' appointments and routine tests. If you end up needing anything more specialized, it can get even more expensive. Then comes labor in delivery. in 2013, one organization estimated that the average birth in America cost $30,000 (making it the most expensive place to have a baby in the entire world!) 

Clearly, that's a lot to have hanging over your head. No one wants to be dealing with giant medical bills while also dealing with taking care of a newborn. At some point you're going to know what your insurance plan is expecting you to pay, and the best time to do that is before you start racking those bills up. It may sound funny to say that the first thing you should do after that BFP is take the time to look up your insurance and find out what it actually covers and what your expected cost is going to be, but it's worth it in all the time and energy and *money* it will save you in the long run. Take a few minutes now to figure out what your options are, rather than spending years regretting unnecessarily high medical bills. 

But shopping for insurance is complicated. There's all the differences in types of plans, coverage, deductibles, co-pays, and all the rest, including whether or not an HMO or a PPO would be the better bet for you. That's where companies like mine, DropYourRate.Net, come in. Through our website, you'll be able to compare plans across a lot of different networks very easily and find the option that is best for you. 

And If you don’t already have your own health insurance plan or one offered by your employer, having a child is a great time to enroll. Enrolling in a new health insurance plan is usually only possible during the enrollment period around the beginning and end of each year, but the government considers birth to be a “Qualifying Life Event.” 

Because insurance companies frequently change the way they calculate your rates, it’s good to check all the options available to you. 

Go to DropYourRate.net by clicking here to check for the best insurance providers in your state, or just to read the testimonials of people we've helped save money while finding the plan that best fit them. 

Wishing you a happy healthy nine months!