Having gone through the tour of the hospital, here are some numbers I brought back. It’s been kind of hard to find on the internet how much things cost, so here’s a ballpark for any curious folks.
HOW LONG CAN YOU BE EXPECTED TO STAY IN A HOSPITAL AFTER GIVING BIRTH?
You can be expected to stay in the hospital anywhere from 24 hours to 5 days.
- First-time mothers will most likely stay 2 -3 days.
- Mothers without complications and have had babies before can pretty much leave in 24 hours.
- Any mother that has a C-Section will stay on average of 4 -5 days.
- Any babies with complications will stay the full 5 days (or perhaps longer, depending on what happens).
You can also buy your baby a Fisher Price cellphone to call after coming out. HAH!
With that in mind here’s what it costs if you want the ‘full’ treatment:
ROOMS IN HOSPITALS
There are 3 types of rooms across Canada and they’re Ward, Semi-Private and Private.
Typically, Ward rooms have 4-5 beds in them, Semi-Private has 2, and Private is when you are by yourself.
In Ward and Semi-Private rooms they have a curtain separating the beds.
The hospital I am at, has all three but their Ward rooms only have 2 beds in each room, so it’s pretty much a Semi-Private room just with another name and perhaps a smaller size of room.
They will try and encourage you on the tours or at the hospital to take the Semi-Private room if it is already covered under your employer’s insurance because they can most likely charge your insurance company for the room, whereas with Ward rooms they cannot.
If you are already paying for it in your employer’s health insurance, why not?
| ITEM | Daily Cost | 3 DAYS | 5 DAYS | NOTES |
| Private Room | $295.00 | $885.00 | $1,475.00 | Same cost if not covered by government (OHIP) |
| Fast Internet | $15.00 | $45.00 | $75.00 | Assuming the same cost as TV |
| TV | $15.00 | $45.00 | $75.00 | |
| Telephone | $15.00 | $45.00 | $75.00 | |
| Circumcision | $300.00 | $300.00 | In cash or by cheque; no cards of any kind | |
| Day Pass Parking | $15.00 | $45.00 | $135.00 | |
| TOTAL | $1,365.00 | $2,135.00 |
Out of that entire list, I am only going to have to pay for parking (if that, seeing as my partner does not want / cannot sleep in the hospital with me; the reclining lounge chair/bed is not sufficient for his back problems).
Here’s why:
- Private Room — I am only going to be there for 5 days max. I do not need a private room. You don’t even get special privileges of having as many visitors as you want for 24 hours even in a private room because the rule of only 2 visitors applies and yes, a child is considered a single visitor.
- Fast Internet — Wifi is free, but if you want faster speeds you have to pay their private internet service provider a fee. I wasn’t given a price, I am assuming it is $15/day.
- TV — I am not paying $15 a day for television.
- Telephone — I am also not paying for a telephone. I will call everyone I need to call before labour in the hospital. The telephone is free when you are in the triage or labour ward, but not in the postpartum (post-birth) ward.
- Circumcision — Didn’t want it anyway.
- Day Pass Parking — $15/day is a reasonable estimate.
My total cost for this room will be about $45 at the end, since I am covered under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).
Let’s also not forget that you will need to provide for yourself:
- Baby Diapers — $32 (we bought 2 packs of the the fancy Seventh Generation Disposable Diapers on sale at $14/each)
- Maternity pads — $15 (I bought Natura Maternity Pads and they cost about $5 per pack, and I’m bringing 3)
- Food & Drink — if you don’t want to eat nasty hospital food and drink
- Baby Formula — Where I gave birth, they provided the formula but not all hospitals do this
Note: Where I gave birth, baby diapers and maternity pads were provided but only for 1-2 days, not for the entire stay!!!
So those are extra costs on top of the above.
They will most likely give you a beginner package that contains enough for 1-2 days of your stay, but nothing beyond that if you stay longer.
