Guide on Having Baby

¦ There’s no such thing as “the perfect time” to have a baby. There are always pros and cons to be weighed. 

¦ Having a baby can take its toll on your career. Both women and men can find themselves relegated to the Mommy Track or the Daddy Track if they are perceived as being less committed to their careers than their childless co-workers. 

¦ Raising a child is an expensive proposition. You can expect to spend between $127,080 and $254,400 raising a child from birth to age 18. 

¦ The biological clock waits for no woman. You risk missing out on the experience of becoming a parent if you postpone parenthood for too long. 

¦ Be sure to take steps to safeguard your fertility so that it will be there for you if and when you need it. (This advice applies to both men and women, by the way. Remember, baby-making is a team sport!)

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While you might be tempted to hold off on starting a family until you have your financial house in order, it might not be the wisest move from a biological standpoint. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, postponing motherhood indefinitely isn’t necessarily in the best interests of mother or baby. Not only do you risk missing out on the experience of motherhood entirely (the biological clock waits for no woman, after all), you face an increased risk of experiencing reproductive or other health problems, or of giving birth to a baby with health problems. Here’s what you need to know in order to be fully informed on the age issue:

¦ Older mothers are less fertile than younger mothers. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, a woman over age 40 has just a 5 percent chance of conceiving during any given cycle as compared to the 20 percent odds enjoyed by a woman in her early 20s.

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• Is the health insurance plan registered with the American Association of Health Plans (www.aahp.org) or the National Committee for Quality Assurance (www.ncqa.org; 202-9553500)? (Note: The National Committee for Quality Assurance Web site allows you to create online report cards for any health plan or plans you’re considering. This Web site is definitely worth checking out.) 
• Is the plan you’re considering suited to the needs of young families? 
• How long do you have to add your newborn to the plan? (Most health insurance companies only give you 30 days to add your baby to your plan. If you miss this window of opportunity, you have to wait until the next open enrollment period - something that likely means your baby will go uninsured until then.) 
• Are all of the hospitals covered by the plan accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (www.jcaho.org/; 630-792-5000)? 
• Does at least one of the hospitals covered by the plan have an extensive department in any specialty you or your baby might require (for example, a neonatal intensive care unit)?
• How many of the physicians within the plan are board certified? 
• Are the physicians or midwives who are covered by the health insurance plan experienced and highly respected professionals? Do they have specialized training in such areas as infertility and high-risk pregnancy? 
• Are there enough physicians or midwives for you to choose from? (You should think twice before joining a plan that has fewer than 3 specialists in any specialty or fewer than 10 primary care physicians.) 
• What is the rate of turnover among physicians or midwives? 
• Do the physicians or midwives covered by the plan have offices that are conveniently located? 
• If you decide to use the services of a physician or midwife outside the plan, what percentage of the cost of their services, if any, will be covered by the health insurance plan? 
• How are treatment decisions made? 
• Which drugs and treatments are and are not covered by the plan? 
• If experimental treatments are not covered, how does the health insurance plan go about defining what’s experimental and what’s not? 
• Are there any restrictions on medical coverage? For example, does your primary-care doctor or the health insurance plan administrator have to give the go-ahead before you show up at an emergency room? 
• What type of nonemergency care, if any, is available to you when you travel? 
• Are the doctors within the plan required to sign a “gag clause” that prohibits them from telling patients about expensive or experimental treatments that aren’t covered by the plan? 
• Does the health insurance plan dictate standardized procedures for certain diseases or medical conditions (for example, what is its policy regarding vaginal births after cesareans)? 
• Is there a cap on the number of referrals to specialists or for expensive tests that a physician can order in a year (or other financial disincentives to utilize services)? 
• Does the plan cover the cost of obtaining a second opinion? 
• What types of infertility-related services are covered by the plan? How many sessions or treatments are covered? 
• Are alternative therapies, such as the services of chiropractors and acupuncturists, covered by the plan? 
• Are prenatal visits, well-baby care, and immunizations covered by the plan? 
• What is the co-pay (that is, the amount of money you’re required to pay out of your own pocket) for prenatal visits, a vaginal or cesarean birth, ultrasounds, prenatal testing, and other types of services? 
• What is the deductible you are required to pay for a particular time period (usually per person/per year)?

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As an expectant parent, you need to be concerned about two basic types of costs: the long-term costs of raising a child to age 18 (or later, if your late bloomer takes a little longer to fly the coop) and the short-term costs of giving birth to a child.

What it costs to raise a child

Government statistics about the costs of raising children are enough to send you sprinting to the doctor’s office for a refill on your birth control prescription. According to the latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for example, you can expect to spend somewhere between $127,080 and $254,400 raising a child from birth to age 18, depending on your household income (see Table).

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The figures shown in each age line indicate the expenditure for each year that the child falls within a particular age range. For example, a child wil be under the age of two for two years (age birth to one and age one to two), so if your income is under $39,700 you would need to count on havin two years of expenditures in the $6,620 range The figures represent the estimated expenses for a child in a two-child family. To calculate the expenses for an only child, multiply the expenditure for each category by 1.24. To estimate expenses for a child in a family with three or more children, multiply the expenditures for each category fo each child by 0.77 Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture

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