A Mom Went Viral For Breaking Down The Cost Of Giving Birth In America, And People Are Calling It “Crazy”

Kayla Kosuga (@kaylakosuga), a 24-year-old living in Florida, recently went viral for explaining how much it cost to give birth to her most recent child. The video has been viewed over 18 million times and is, once again, an example of how America’s healthcare system continues to highlight just how difficult and costly it can be to get basic care.

TikTok: @kaylakosuga / Via tiktok.com

Kayla starts off the TikTok with: “This is how much it costs to give birth in America: $44,318.41. I had my little guy three weeks ago, so they definitely wasted no time sending me that bill.” The social media influencer, who was in the hospital for two days, noted she had a vaginal birth with epidural and no complications.

Kayla then shares a screenshot of her itemized bill after giving birth, revealing several costs: A private one-bed room and board was $10,100, pharmacy was $89.40, anesthesia was $1,845, labor room/delivery was $10,275, and more.

Other care services Kayla was charged for:

• Laboratory: $859

• Specialty Services: $585

• Other Diagnostic Services: $1,347

“And that’s just one bill,” the 24-year-old explains in the video. “We have multiple bills to go through, guys.” For transparency, Kayla shares that insurance paid $20,353.62 of the first bill, leaving her and her partner responsible for the other $4,746.78. However, the cost to pay the doctor who delivered her baby with insurance was an additional $4,395.85.

Kayla continues saying in the TikTok that she also received an epidural bill for $2,060.86 — the cost of the doctor and “not the epidural itself.”

Lastly, Kayla reveals that her baby received a bill, too, which added up to $12,761.30 without insurance. For their family of five now, the cost of insurance per month is $2,500 — a nearly $400 increase from when they were just a family of four. “We’re still waiting for him to process on our insurance,” she explains, “so, for now, this is the cost without it.”

Kayla’s TikTok received over 2.2 million likes and over 22,000 comments, with a majority of people expressing their shock at all the charges that come with pregnancy and giving birth. One user said, “americas healthcare system is a joke… how does the newborn have a $12k bill? 😭😭😭.” Another TikTok user commented, “And they wonder why the birth rate is declining 🫠 44k!!!”

Meanwhile, people outside of the US are sharing the drastic differences when it comes to the cost of giving birth. One TikTok user said, “I love living in Sweden sometimes. It was all FREE!! I used three different kinds of pain killers (epidural, gas, and syringe), had some complications and had to stay at the hospital 4 four nights.”

In America, the average cost to have a child is $19,000 — but for many women, that number varies based on insurance and whether or not there are complications with the pregnancy. Notably, 1 in 12 Americans is in medical debt, with a study suggesting that Americans owe $220 billion. As said by Kayla as she concludes her TikTok breaking down her $44,318.41 bill — and as many others have shared — it truly is “crazy.”

If you’re a mother, how much did it cost you to give birth? If you’ve had children years apart, did you notice a difference in the costs? Which costs surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your story using the form below.

For more content, follow Kayla on TikTok.