Costs of Epidural

Hi All,

I enquired yesterday about what kind of costs i'm likely to occur if I choose to have an epidural, and to my horror was told something in the order of $500-$1000 for a VB, or $1000-$1500 for a CS (for the anaethetist ONLY, not incl doctors fees). These figures were quoted as my Out of Pocket expenses after taking into account private health cover etc.

Having a quick scan over other forums/threads, this seems quite excessive? Ie i couldnt find anyone else who had incurred costs anywhere close to this. Does my doctor just use a particuarly expensive anaesthetist?

(I'm in SE Qld, if that makes any difference)

Tanya

My friend's SIL went as a private patient even though she didn't have private helth insurance & she paid $1000 for her epidural around 2 weeks ago.

My gf just had an epi (ended up in cs but not sure if that mattered) She was a private patient in private hospital. Her epi fee was $750 if she paid it within 4 weeks or full price of $1500 if paid after that date. She also mentioned (when i turned white at the cost - i have same hosp and ob!) that it was higher than usual as the anesthesiologist was called out "after hours".

She also mentioned that although she was aware of te cost before hand she would have morgaged her house in order to pay for one at the time :)

Yes I kind of wish I hadn't asked about the cost now - I dont want to be desperately wanting one but worrying about the cost at the same time! I suggest if its that bad it will probably be the last thing on my mind anyway ..!

Hmm.... that seem a lot we have been told a max of $500 out of pocket and im having a c/sect, im a private patient, tho we are hoping for one perticular anaesthetist who has no out of pocket costs, he will send our bill directly to HCF. also our OB has no out of pocket costs too. i guess they are just nice guys...

Yes, I think I was about $700 out of pocket 3 years ago.

But the financial cost is not the only cost. Epidurals do often require further intervention - in my case labour was slowed so DS went into distress which meant forceps which meant tear which meant episotomy which meant stitches and pain for weeks. Plus I blame my haemorrhoids on pushing with an epi and not being able to properly feel what was going on (and/or from pushing while lying down as the epi lowered my bp and I was unable to lift my head or sit up). I also now know that I would never have gone 8 more hours as they told me at the time they convinced me to have an epidural I didn't really want. Even with the delayed labour I was fully dilated within 2 hours. If I knew then what I know now, I would never have had the epidural. I have sinced birthed without one and wow, what an amazing difference. It was SOOO much better second time and I recovered immediately with no painful stitches or feeling like I'd had an op.

Sorry to go off topic, but to me, the increased risk of intervention and the results of that are the more important "cost". They hurt way more than the financial cost.

Thanks MantaRay,

I really havent decided whether or not I will have one, of course ideally I could go without but not knowing how bad the pain is going to be or how long the labour will last I am just going in with an open mind, trying to be as educated as i can on each of the options.

I've heard many stories about how good they are, and some stories about how bad, I suspect its probably different for everyone and I just hope I end up making the correct decision on the day for myself.

To be honest, no matter how much it costs, or the recovery time for me, so long as I have a healthy baby at the end I will be happy!

Tanya

Tanya, I am sure you will make the right decision for you. I just wanted to point out my experience, as I believe many women have an epidural out of fear of not being able to cope, rather than not actually being able to cope. And the medical staff often seem very keen to push you into it.

If you haven't already, grab a copy of New Active Birth by Janet Bakalikis??? - whoops can't remember how to spell her name. It made a huge difference to me when birthing DS2. It is probably the most useful book a pg woman can read.

Best of luck hun, I'm sure it will all go very well.