Pregnancy costs?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Did anyone have trouble getting pregnant? Did you try any extra measures to try and get pregnant? How much did it cost and does insurance cover any of it?

[Diolla]

I had alot of trouble and it took me 10 years of trying. However that was 27-17 years ago and insurance didn't cover any alternative methods.

When I had my second tubal pregnancy the doctor suggested IVF and I just laughed and said "We're poor folk, we have to do it the old fashioned way"

I haven't tried recently but it is possible insurance would cover some types now. Why don't you just call the company and ask?

Good Luck, I got my DS after losing 3, each one was harder than the last. He is truly a miracle baby.

[pearlieq]

The nice thing is that a lot of the basics for infertility testing/treatment are cheap and/or covered by insurance.

If a couple is having frequent relations for a year (or 6 months if they are older) and have not been able to get pregnant it's usually recommended they get checked out.

The first easy and cheap thing the woman can do is keep track of her cycle. Check out a copy of Taking Charge of Your Fertility from the library or just google "fertility charting". That will give you a basic outline of how to track and chart your cycle and how to keep track of signs of ovulation/fertility. You and/or your doctor should be able to tell if you're ovulating regularly from your charts and will be able to get lots of useful information.

Also, a basic semen analysis for the man is pretty easy, inexpensive, and minimally invasive. Having that done can rule out a lot of problems quickly.

Once you have that basic information, you can either move ahead with corrections or continue futher medical treatment.

One fairly common condition that causes trouble with women trying to get pregnant is PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). It can cause women to ovulate infrequently or not at all. Some clues that you might have PCOS: Irregular, infrequent periods, overweight, excess hair on arms, chest, or face, trouble with adult acne, and brown patches of skin. You may not have all of these, but if you've got more than one, it's probably something to ask your doctor about. The good news is that a lot of progress has been made in treating PCOS--it can often be treated with very inexpensive medications and lifestyle changes.

Best of luck to you!

[PrincessPerky]

Before you just estimate the cost of getting pregnant, you should also look at the cost of being pregnant, and of delivery..not to mention having a kid.

Good luck!

[mccartygirl]

Well, once pregnant, insurance covers the pregnancy and delivery. I had to pay for all of our fertility drugs and some of the tests. After trying with fertility drugs for 6 months we were contemplating IVF but decided that we'd rather use that money towards adoption. You might want to way the cost of fertility treatments/tests/etc. vs. adoption costs. When we were trying 6 years ago it was $15,000 for 1 IVF, including drugs and all. It's not much more than that to adopt.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Our medical is phenomenal for covering prenatal and delivery. Yes, adoption is high on our list. We'll probably do adoption anyway, but I was sort of hoping to try naturally.

The insurance will cover 1 try IVF, but I am not sure I want to go there.

[instantinfo4you]

I have to agree with everyone else on this. I have never personally had this problem so I cannot speak from experience, but I would think that healthcare would cover some of the more basic things.

[Snoopy2645]

Well my cousin just did this she just had her baby last week & is about 42 now she tried for years on her own well it cost her & her husband about 20k not sure about insurance he owns his own construction company so they may not have had insurance I dont know the details on that

[PrincessPerky]

When you check to see if your pregnancy is covered..beware they lie..or rather are misleading,a covered pregnancy care does not neccessarily cover testing (like blood tests, glucose test, and ultrasound) I learned the hard way..it is why we went into debt over my daughter.

[Lonewolf]

LivingAlmostLarge,

My sister just went through this. They are mid/late-30's, and insurance would pay for one shot of IVF. This would typically run close to $15,000. Unfortunately they did not get the Christmas Present they were hoping for. So now they are evaluating their situations, and listening closely to their doctor in understanding if it is better to consider other options such as adoption or if it is worth the personal 15,000 investment for another shot.

It does take a toll on the woman, as my sister had to go through a lot to try and make this work (Not to be-little any hardship on her dear husband).

Best thing is to check with your Insurance to see if this option is available, and then make decisions. (oops, just noticed yours covered the one shot IVF as well, just wanted to make sure you understood there is a big emotional investment as well).

The best of luck.

Wolf

[sweeps]

Insurance coverage for fertility varies quite a bit. If you do have to pay out of pocket, it is REALLY expensive. The procedures don't cost as much as the drugs. My employer's insurance covers $25,000 for procedures but only $10,000 for the drugs. That 10K doesn't go very far, trust me.

Here are some tips:

1. At the fertility clinic, make sure the first one or two exams are coded as regular ob/gyn exams. That way you can delay the hit on the fertility procedure coverage as long as possible.

2. If your employer offers multiple insurance plans -- for example, a Blue Cross plan, a Cigna plan and an Aetna plan, switch plans at your open enrollment to reset the limit.

3. If you must pay out of pocket, check out freedomdrug.com. Very reasonably priced. After paying 2 rounds of treatments, you're eligible for the 3rd round to be free. Give them a call for details.

[katwoman]

A tip I heard is to get on some of the fertility boards where you may come across others who have gotten pg and have excess drugs just sitting around.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Thanks a lot everyone but the coverage is great for pregnancy. However I'm unsure what I think about IVF being so expensive and paying for it. It costs 1 try about the same as adopting and at least you get a baby by adopting.

[PrincessPerky]

a baby who might otherwise be parentless....whereas your harvested eggs wont ever know if they are left alone, that baby may one day grow into a kid with no mom unless you take him/her......

I am a bit biased torward adoption myself...

[mom-from-missouri]

We did IVF and IXCY. At the time we had Cigna, and it covered 80% of everything.

[smartatmoney]

For us it was a bit tough, our first pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage. We were told to wait 6 months and try again. After that it was all OK. No expenses out of the ordinary.

Good Luck!

[saver25]

Pregnancy costs vary quite a bit as you might guess depending on whether there are any complications involved. I know that in the state of Florida the average cost of a routine pregnancy is $1,689 (Florida Maternity Insurance)