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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE New mom details shocking cost of giving birth in America
A new mom has shared the shockingly high cost of giving birth in America - and it's well over six figures. Emily Fisher, 36, from Columbus, Ohio, welcomed twin girls last month and was left stunned when she saw an insurance claim come through for her delivery that was over $10,000. Completely shocked by the immense figure, she decided to go back and total up all the bills she had received over the course of her pregnancy to determine just how much having a baby in the US really costs. And after adding everything up, Emily found that having her baby girls would have cost her a whopping $120,527.51 had she not had insurance. She shared her findings in a video shared to TikTok earlier this month and it quickly went viral, leaving thousands across the globe just as surprised as she was. 'So I am five weeks postpartum with twin girls and I've been seeing a lot of headlines recently about how the birth rate in America is declining and how concerning that is,' Emily began in the video. 'I thought to myself, I could think of a lot of reasons why the birth rate might be declining. First and foremost, cost. 'So I decided to take it upon myself and look at every bill that I received over the course of my pregnancy and total what it costs to deliver twins in America.' Emily explained that she is considered 'advanced maternal age' and was pregnant with 'dichorionic diamniotic twins' which made her pregnancy 'high risk.' In addition, about halfway through the pregnancy her doctor raised concerns about potential 'fetal growth restriction,' so from about 22 weeks on she had to have two appointments every week with her OBGYN and a maternal fetal medicine specialist to make sure the babies were healthy. 'So what was the total cost of that? From the start of my pregnancy through delivery and me walking out of those hospital doors, the total bill for my care was $120,527.51,' she said in the video. 'Now I am very fortunate great insurance and I have a low deductible so over the course of my pregnancy out of pocket I paid $2,038.70. 'I know that is relatively good but still, $2,000 for something that is considered necessary and vital to the future of America is pretty significant.' Emily added that on top of that, her newborns both received bills for their delivery. 'It's kind of funny, they're not even able to blink yet and they've already been billed more than the total cost of my student loans,' she continued. 'Baby A received a bill for $15,124.55 and Baby B was billed $14,875.55, I guess there was some sort of sibling discount. She added, 'The total cost I owed for those two bills was $750, which was the cost of my deductible.' The bills are seen above 'The total cost I owed for those two bills was $750, which was the cost of my deductible.' She then broke down what some of the highest costs were during the pregnancy. Unsurprisingly, the delivery itself and the hospital stay afterwards was the most costly expense. Emily explained that she had a scheduled C-section at 37 weeks and spent four days in the hospital post delivery, and the total cost of her care before insurance was $65,665.50. The second highest cost during the pregnancy was an appointment she had about seven months in, during which she complained to her doctor that she was having headaches. She said they took her blood pressure and it was slightly elevated, so they monitored the heart rate of the babies for 20 minutes to 'make sure they were okay.' She was then given 'two extra strength Tylenol' and they 'did some blood work.' 'The cost that was billed to my insurance for that visit was $9,115,' shared the new mom. 'All things considered, I'm very grateful for the experience that I had and very grateful to have great insurance, but I know that for a lot of people who live in America that is simply not possible,' she concluded. 'And if I did not have insurance delivery my two baby girls, I would not be able to afford it. 'In fact, I probably would have had to file bankruptcy had I not had insurance. So when people act confused why the birth rates are down, maybe it's not necessarily all attributed to lifestyle choices, maybe it's not because people aren't feeling the vibe of having kids, maybe it's because the cost of having a baby in America is over six figures.' While chatting with the Daily Mail about it, Emily, who used to work on the healthcare space, said she believes the insurance system in America 'needs a complete overhaul.' 'Given that the US is the one of (if not the only) developed nation in the world without some sort of universal healthcare, we're falling behind,' she said. 'People are spending too much on basic and necessary care. Medical debt is one of the number one reasons for bankruptcy in the US, and it shouldn't be that way. 'If we invested in a system that put the health its people first, everyone would be better off. 'And given the decline in birth rates, if our politicians are genuinely concerned about falling birth rates, they would be incentivizing people to have children. You shouldn't have to pay to give birth.' She added that while she was 'shocked' by the high number that her insurance was billed, she was 'not surprised at the same time.' 'The first thing that came to mind when I saw the total was, "How do people without insurance afford this?"' she shared. 'But I've always known that healthcare in America is a business. Ultimately, like most necessities in the US, privatized insurance is designed to make money.' She said she certainly wasn't expecting her video, which was viewed more than one million times, to get as much attention as it did, but she's so glad that it has sparked a conversation. 'I hope my video makes people think twice about having kids in America. Because until the system is redesigned to truly support the people, we shouldn't be buying into it,' she concluded. 'I'm fortunate to have good health coverage. I'm not on the hook for much as far as the cost of my pregnancy, but that is only the beginning for my family and what we'll pay to raise my kids. 'Now we have to think about things like paying for their health coverage, daycare, food, housing and college. 'All of these things are only getting more and more expensive and almost unreachable for people.'
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Has Trump just become the very model of a modern liberal leader?
Giving an all-important green light to Keir Starmer for the UK to recognise Palestine… rejecting Netanyahu's claim that there is no food crisis in Gaza by saying there is 'real starvation'…giving Russia a '10 to 12 days' ultimatum over Ukraine… Was this the week that Donald J Trump became the kind of leader that liberals dream of? One day we may know the full story of this remarkable transformation – and, while there are many caveats, doubts and, very likely, disappointments to follow, we should at least cherish such unexpected developments as this. 'We have to get the kids fed' is as simple and powerful an instruction as we could possibly hope to get from the leader of the free world. No moral equivocation there, no 'both sides' – and no room for delay, is not a coincidence that, grudgingly and still inadequately, Israel is allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, and, as a result, lives will be saved. Trump isn't asinine enough to pretend that there is no starvation in the Gaza Strip, and, loyal as he may be, neither is he so beholden to his friend BiBi that he is going to be taken in by the most audacious and shameful attempt at gaslighting to that effect in the history of the State of Israel. We can maybe see what is happening here, both with Israel and with Russia, where Trump's patience with Vladimir Putin, another strong man he wished to build a partnership with, has also been exhausted. First, there is that decision where Trump decides he wants to build that rapport with a counterpart. Usually, this is a strong guy – Putin, Netanyahu, even Kim Jong-un in the first term. Let's not forget that he has even tried to get on terms with the ayatollahs in (oil-rich) Iran, much to Israeli alarm. Starmer, unusually, is someone Trump should despise, but instead declares that he just can't stop praising and liking the guy. It surpasses human understanding. Second, there's usually some sort of distant private deal on the side, maybe real estate or raw materials, maybe with US interests as well as family ones mixed in. Hence his partial rapprochement with Zelensky, built on rare earths. Notice also how Trump used to fantasise about building a golf course on the North Korean coast, or the bizarre plan to turn Gaza into a beach resort. When he basically told the world he had given up on Putin's sincerity, Trump could surely have wept about how Russia could be such a rich country… if only Putin had allowed Trump to get involved in the economy, he didn't quite add. Netanyahu, who was taken by surprise by the US-administered Gaza resort idea, may not be proving as useful in this enterprise as Trump first assumed he would – but that is certainly a more confusing picture. You may recall that in that unusually candid interview Trump recently gave to the BBC's Gary O'Donoghue, the president admitted that he trusts 'almost nobody', but that he wasn't yet 'done' with Putin. Well, now he is because, as Trump himself says, they are these nice, long, respectful conversations in which Trump listens sympathetically to Putin's case and Russia's wartime sacrifices – and then the Russians bomb a nursing home in Kyiv or something. The truth is that Trump has at times seemed too inclined to trust people he shouldn't, and all too ready to make enemies of natural allies – Justin Trudeau in Canada, Ishiba Shigeru in Japan – but when he finally works out that he's been played along, he will act accordingly. Hence the abandonment of Putin and the distancing of Netanyahu, whose policies, which Trump indulged, have destroyed Trump's plan for a lucrative new economic zone in the Middle East from the Gulf to the Mediterranean, based on his Abraham Accords programme. There is now no chance of Saudi Arabia normalising relations with Israel, greatly to Trump's annoyance. Last, Trump may not be the one-dimensional monster he is satirised as, though he's no one's idea of a hero. Prompted by First Lady Melania Trump, he seems to have been, at last, genuinely moved by the savagery that Putin has inflicted on Ukrainian civilians; and the same compassion about the starving children in Gaza seems to be impelling him to act with an unusual moral intensity. He can be driven by the humanitarian impulse in the same way anyone can. Of course, we need not get carried away. The United States is boycotting the UN two-state solution conference on the future of Palestine. The plan for a Gaza beach resort is still, apparently, Trump administration policy, with the prospect that the Palestinians will be driven from their homes; reports suggest the Americans have been looking for places where refugees could be resettled, which would be near enough to a forced displacement as to be a crime against humanity. Trump is not going to switch sides again and have America support the restoration of full Ukrainian sovereignty – and the Trump White House will continue to deny climate change, and launch trade wars as it fancies. Yet these last few days have seen some extremely welcome signs that Trump is capable of doing some good every now and again. Trump says he's stopped wars between India and Pakistan, Rwanda and the DRC, and Cambodia and Thailand. Exaggerated or not, the United States is playing the right sort of role. If it is now pursuing ceasefires in Ukraine and Gaza, in each case a peace that passeth all understanding, we should just take the wins – even if it means Trump takes the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Famine under way in Gaza, UN-backed experts say
Famine is unfolding in Gaza, where Israeli restrictions on food aid and ongoing fighting have produced a 'worst-case scenario', UN-backed hunger experts have said, calling for immediate intervention to save lives. 'Mounting evidence shows widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,' the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) alert said. 'The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.' This is the first time the IPC has said famine is under way in Gaza, although it has previously warned that the territory was on the brink. During nearly two years of war, Israel has repeatedly limited aid trucks reaching Gaza, sometimes halting aid shipments entirely. The famine alert came as health authorities in Gaza said the Palestinian toll from the war had passed 60,000. Civilians make up a majority of the victims. The alert, based on 'the latest evidence available', does not formally classify Gaza as being in famine. That requires full analysis, which the IPC said would be carried out without delay, but data from Gaza already confirms two of three thresholds have been met. Famine is formally classified as a situation where at least 20% of people face extreme food shortages, one in three children are acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 die daily from starvation-related causes. Most of Gaza has crossed the food consumption threshold, 'with one in three individuals going without food for days at a time', the IPC alert said. Child malnutrition rose rapidly in the first half of July, reaching the famine threshold in Gaza City. 'Hospitals have reported a rapid increase in hunger-related deaths of children under five years of age, with at least 16 reported deaths since 17 July,' it said. Between April and mid-July, more than 20,000 children were admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition, 3,000 of them severely malnourished. The third core indicator is starvation-related deaths. It is difficult to collect robust data in a health system nearing collapse after nearly two years of war but the World Food Programme and Unicef said in joint statement that these deaths are 'increasingly common'. Cindy McCain, the WFP executive director, said: 'The unbearable suffering of the people of Gaza is already clear for the world to see. Waiting for official confirmation of famine to provide life-saving food aid they desperately need is unconscionable.' The IPC report details how Israel's 'drastic restrictions' on the entry of food has limited shipments to far below the levels needed to cover basic needs in Gaza, without fresh foods such as vegetables and meat. The population needs an estimated 62,000 metric tonnes of food staples each month. Israeli data shows no food entered Gaza in March or April, 19,900 tonnes entered in May and 37,800 tonnes entered in June, the IPC report says. 'This is unlike anything we have seen in this century,' said the WFP emergency director Ross Smith, addressing reporters in Geneva via video link from Rome. 'It reminds us of previous disasters in Ethiopia or Biafra in the past century. We need urgent action now.' Israel denies limiting aid shipments and has blamed food shortages in Gaza on other factors including distribution failures by the UN and Hamas diverting aid. The IPC is a global initiative working with aid groups, international organisations and UN agencies to assess hunger levels in populations at risk.
