From $2,560 to $15,712: Four Decades of American Delivery Bills
1980s figures reflect the hospital cost of the delivery itself. 2020s figures reflect total spending on pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care for people with large employer coverage, of which $2,563 for a vaginal delivery and $3,071 for a cesarean was paid out of pocket. Because the two periods measure different scopes of care, the comparison should be read as the direction and scale of change rather than a like for like price.