surgery. While medicine is fantastic. A baby is natural (most of the time). That means in general the following:
Basic monitoring is sufficient for most of the labor... pay a nurse $50 an hour for 24 hours and that is $1200 average labor is shorter. Throw in $2K for 2 hours of highly specialized skills... rarely needed and you're breaking $3200 so far. A hospital fee for space $1800 seems sufficient.
So that's how I break down general cost of labor and delivery. I'm stunned that it is above $5K as a regular practice.
Don't get me wrong, I'm guessing there are time when it goes way over. But as a standard?
Now if everyone gets an epidural and c-sections and those type of things, then it certainly can go a little higher. I'm surprised by the answers that put it over 20K.
A "natural" birth with no complications seems to me would only cost 2K or so.