Posted by Today, let’s take a look at how much it costs to give birth in a hospital in Belgium and what medical services you receive. I will use myself as an example at the Helig Hart Hospital in Leuven (natural birth) and a good friend at the AZ Klina Hospital in Antwerp (cesarean).
Go to the Hospital
I started having contractions in the afternoon of June 1, 2023 (the expected date of delivery). Five hours later, the contractions reached every five minutes apart, so we rushed to the hospital. When we arrived, the midwife did a check and told me that I was only 3 centimeters dilated (normal delivery requires 10 cm). While waiting in the delivery room, the midwife asked us to fill out a form in advance to see if we had any medical history and asked us if we wanted to stay in a single room or a double room for postpartum rest. We chose a single room.
The delivery room was about 20 square meters, with a delivery bed, bathtub, yoga ball, bathroom, and child care area. We spent the next 7 hours of difficult contractions in this room.
During this period, a midwife came over every hour or so to check on me. I kept asking them to inject me with an Epidural because the contractions were so painful, but the midwife said that I could not get it until at least 4 cm dilation ( contractions approximately every two minutes), otherwise, the labor would be greatly slowed down.
So we could do nothing but wait. Every time the contractions came, I felt like I couldn’t breathe and my whole body twitched. During this period, I tried yoga balls, bathtubs, etc. to relieve the pain, but it had little effect. By midnight, I was so tired that I fell asleep in bed, but I could only sleep for a few minutes at a time, and then I started screaming again. My husband Rui was next to me the whole time, but he could not do much except offer mental support and give me a massage.
Rest
After staying up until about 12 o’clock (in fact, the contraction was not yet every two minutes apart), I requested the midwife to do another finger check, and then we found that it had reached 5 centimeters! We could finally get the Epidural!
After the injection, it was heaven compared to before. I could still vaguely feel contractions but it didn’t hurt at all! I was so exhausted, but we were finally able to get some sleep.
When I woke up, it was already five o’clock in the morning. The midwife came to check on me and told me that I had only dilated from 5 to 6 centimeters, it seemed that the Epidural had stopped my contraction. I felt a little disappointed, but I was also very happy to be able to have slept for 4 hours.
Birth delivery
Then the midwife gave me a little oxytocin so that the contractions started again. I could clearly feel the baby moving down little by little, it lasted for another two or three hours. Then a midwife came and told me that it was time to push, I was lucky to be guided by a great team, they encouraged me to push only when the contraction came, after four or five times, and the baby came out!
After 9 months of pregnancy, 12 hours of contractions, and half an hour of pushing, I finally saw the baby. When the doctor placed the warm baby on my belly, my husband and I both started sobbing. The baby looked perfect. With the help of the doctor, my husband cut the umbilical cord with his own hands. The baby cried for a few minutes and then fell asleep in my arms.
Next, the medical staff left 3 of us in the room, during which the baby was naked in my arms and in skin-to-skin contact with me.
Half an hour later, the midwife cleaned up the baby, weighed him, measured his height, weight, and head circumference, and dressed him. After the nurses helped me with a bath, we were placed in our maternity room on the 4th floor.
After Birth Care
Our maternity room was a single room of nearly 15 square meters. It had a hospital bed, a single sofa (can be turned into a single bed for dad to sleep with), a fixed table, a mobile table, a TV, a baby Nursing room, and a bathroom, it was like a relatively compact hotel room. What’s more interesting is that I rested in this exact room when I was recovering from my appendicitis surgery more than a year ago, How much does it cost to have appendicitis surgery in Belgium?.
The rule in Belgium is that after giving birth, the mother and child will be cared for by doctors and nurses in the maternity room for a few days. The exact number of days depends on the situation.
Natural delivery of the first baby – 4 days and 3 nights
Not the first baby – 3 days and 2 nights
C-section – 5 days and 4 nights
If there are other conditions, you may need to stay in the hospital longer.
During these days of care, the nurse will teach the mother how to breastfeed, teach the father how to change diapers, bathe the baby, etc. Being a parent for the first time really requires a few days of care, otherwise, it would be really confusing.
When we encountered any issues, they would try different solutions for us, such as giving us a pacifier to put the baby to sleep. Breastfeeding was very painful initially, they gave us nipple cream, nursing tea, etc. We were very pleased with the services, and even an intern told us that she worked in different hospitals, and Helig Hart was the best among them.
Our baby was diagnosed with mild jaundice so we stayed in the hospital for one more night to get the phototherapy treatment. As a result, in total, we stayed a total of 6 days and 5 nights in the hospital, during which time we were provided meals.
The Bill for giving birth
Let’s take a look at this hospitalization bill! Two insurances were used for this hospitalization, health insurance and hospitalization insurance. I introduced the differences of them in this article How much does it cost to have appendicitis surgery in Belgium?
In summary, hospitalization expenses and medical staff expenses accounted for the majority. Because I chose a single room, the health insurance covered 4554.04 euros, leaving 1877.81 euros for self-pay. Since my employer bought hospitalization insurance for me (which is very common in Belgium, you can also buy it yourself), the hospitalization insurance covered the rest. So the conclusion is that giving birth in a hospital in Belgium is for free!
Another benefit of being hospitalized in Belgium is that health insurance reimbursement is automatic (linked with the ID card). For hospitalization insurance, you only need to show your insurance card number to the hospital, and the hospital will contact the insurance company to pay them. We do not need to pay in advance and do not need to send the bills to different insurance companies.
Cost of birth with cesarean section
A good friend of mine gave birth 3 months earlier than me, but she had a cesarean section at AZ Klina Hospital in Antwerp. The hospital has 3 times of maternity rooms: Double (you share the room with another person), single, and suite. Because they also had hospitalization insurance purchased by the company, they chose the suite for maternity rest, which has about 45 square meters. The conditions were very good and all the facilities were very modern. It was comparable to the presidential suite in the hotel.
What’s more interesting about Caesarean section in Belgium is that the father can also accompany the mother in the operating room. During the operation, among the many medical staff, there is also a nurse whose duty is to look after the father. If the father feels unwell, he can accompanied by the staff and exit the operation room without affecting the progress of the operation. Dad can also cut the umbilical cord.
Our father friend was very brave and accompanied them throughout the whole process. During the procedure, the anesthesiologist also chatted with the parents to lighten the atmosphere and distract them.
Judging from the bill she sent me, the total price for cesarean section plus postpartum recovery for 7 days and 6 nights (including meals) was 6,049.16 euros, with health insurance reimbursement of 2,160.02 euros, hospitalization insurance reimbursement of 3,556.17 euros, and self-pay of 332.97 euros.
It can be seen from this that the charges of different hospitals are not the same, and the amounts reimbursed by different insurances are also different, but what is certain is that the amount you need to pay (relative to the total amount) is very small.
Okay, this is about the experience shared by myself and my friend, I hope this can be helpful for you to get to know a bit more about Belgium.
More about Belgium:
Big discount for your groceries – Ochama!
What benefits can you get for newborns in Belgium?
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Photo by Rene Asmussen: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-hands-holding-baby-feet-325690/
This is really Helpful