How much does it cost to have a baby?

If you’re planning to start a family, you’ve probably already considered the financial impact of clothes, food, activities and a college education. What many people forget is that pregnancy and childbirth may come with steep costs as well. This is especially true in the United States, which has the highest childbirth costs worldwide.

SEE ALSO: How to choose a pregnancy provider

Recent Truven Health Analytics research estimates the average charges for vaginal birth to be over $30,000, with average cesarean section charges at about $50,000 for those with employer-provided commercial insurance.

The study found that insurance companies paid approximately $18,000 for vaginal births and $27,000 for C-section births, with average out-of-pocket payments of $2,300 and $2,700, respectively. For those without employer-provided insurance, only 6% of pre-Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans covered maternity services.

Today, required comprehensive maternity coverage under the ACA will offset many of these costs, but not all plans cover everything completely. Keeping in mind that your final out-of-pocket cost is determined by your individual pregnancy and specific insurance plan, here’s a guide to what you can expect.

Basic prenatal expenses

Without insurance, prenatal costs add up quickly. Here are week-by-week costs for some common tests and procedures:

• Prenatal Vitamins: $15 for a 30-day supply.

• Ultrasound: $169.

• First-Trimester Screening: $160.

• Cell-Free Fetal DNA Testing: Ranges from about $800 to $2,000.

• Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS): Ranges from about $1,200 to $1,800.

• Cystic Fibrosis (CF) carrier screening: $265.

• Glucose Screening: About $130 independently at a lab, and $66 at your doctor’s office or affiliated hospital.

• Amniocentesis: Ranges from about $200 to $500.

• Group B Strep (GBS test): Costs about $120 at an independent lab and about $61 through your doctor or affiliated hospital.

The exact details of your individual maternity coverage may vary depending on where you live. Individual state guidelines determine exactly what is defined as “maternity coverage.”

Seasonal effects

The time of year you conceive and deliver your little one actually could actually affect your baby’s health and ultimately impact your costs! While many factors affect health, babies conceived during June, July and August tend to have the highest birth weights, a characteristic associated with better health and therefore lower medical costs.

Early spring appears to be the least desirable time to conceive, according to recent research. This study found that conceiving in May was associated with shorter gestation length, which lead to a more than 10% increase in prematurity in the pregnancies analyzed.

Summer conceptions were observed to lead to birth weights of an additional 8-9 grams. According to the March of Dimes, the cost of newborn care for a premature baby could be as much as $50,000 higher than that of a baby born full-term.

Controlling your costs

You may not feel like you’ve got any say in your maternity costs, but you probably have more power than you think. If you can take advantage of an open enrollment insurance period, select a plan with the best maternity coverage available. If you have the option of choosing your hospital, compare costs before committing.

You may be surprised by how much hospital fees vary. Additionally, take the time to choose a high-value pregnancy provider and communicate openly to make sure all tests and procedures performed are absolutely necessary. When in doubt, get a second opinion.

SEE ALSO: Having a baby doesn’t mean you have to go broke

Roberta Pescow writes for NerdWallet Health, a website that empowers consumers to find high quality, affordable health care and insurance.