She's On The Money - Having a Baby for Under $3,000? Two Aussie Mums Share Their Receipts

Episode Date: October 20, 2026

Could you really have a baby in Australia for less than $3,000? According to two mums in our She's on the Money community, absolutely. And they've brought the receipts to prove it! After previously unpacking the costs of having a baby through the private healthcare system, we're flipping the conversation to something that deserves a whole lot more love: Australia's public maternity system. This week, we're getting nosy with two gorgeous community members, Hannah from Melbourne and Erin from Perth, who are sharing exactly what they spent throughout their pregnancies and births. We're talking every ultrasound, appointment, pregnancy supplement, physio visit and even those sneaky hospital parking fees. But this episode isn't just about the money. Both mums had incredibly positive experiences with Australia's public healthcare system, from the continuity of care offered by midwife-led programs to the incredible support they received during pregnancy, birth and beyond. And their stories are a pretty wonderful reminder that great maternity care doesn't necessarily have to come with a hefty price tag. So whether you're planning a family, weighing up public versus private or just curious about what having a baby actually costs in Australia, we're breaking down the numbers, celebrating our incredible midwives and showing you just how valuable our public healthcare system really is. GET OUR BABY BUDGET: Budgeting for a new arrival? Grab ours. READ THE BLOG: Check out our write-up on things to consider when preparing for a baby. RETHINKING YOUR INSURANCE? Check out our playlist devoted to choosing the right insurances for you. New here? Follow us on Instagram (@shesonthemoneyaus) for Q&As, bite-sized advice, daily money inspo... and relatable money memes that just get you.  Acknowledgement of Country By Nartarsha Bamblett (nartarshabamblett.com.au) The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 4451289See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She's on the money. She's on the money. My name's Natasha Bambler. I'm a proud First Nations woman and I'm here to acknowledge country. Hello beautiful friends. We gather on the lands of the Aboriginal people. We thank, acknowledge and respect the Aboriginal people's land that we're gathering on today. Take pleasure in all the land and respect all that you see.

She's on the Money podcast acknowledges culture, country, community and connections, bringing you the tools, knowledge and resources for you to thrive. Hello and welcome to She's on the Money, the podcast where we discuss. us all of the issues affecting your personal wealth goals so that you can feel more in control of your financial future. And for many of you, that future might involve having a family. A few months back, we ran an episode highlighting all of the costs I incurred while having a baby through the private health system. From receipts to private health insurance cover and any out-of-pocket costs accrued along the way, I gave you an itemise the list of my trimester

by trimester costs. And let's just say that that episode caused quite a stir because it only really showed one side of the coin. So today I'm going to be taking you through a few scenarios from members within our own community who wrote into shared their experiences and their receipts after having a baby through the public system. Now it bears repeating that while we love to get into the financial needy-gritty surrounding issues that concern our audience, this topic might feel a little bit loaded or maybe a little bit sensitive for you and I get it. After all, I really do understand what it's like to face hurdles on your way to starting a family. So if this is true for you, please feel free to skip this episode or take breaks whenever you need and we're going to catch you on the next one

anyway. Now for a quick coffee break before we get into the facts and the figures from two she's on the money community members. Welcome back to our follow-up episode on just how much it actually costs to have a baby through the public healthcare system. Our last episode was admittedly a little bit easier to put together because, hi, it included all of my own actual receipts. This time, though, I put a call out to the community to hear from people who had recorded their costs within the public health system. So today, I'm going to be sharing two very unique stories from moms across the country to demonstrate just how much these costs vary from person to person, because at the end of the day, it's a deeply personal experience. And you might find that one pathway might better suit your

wants and needs, but totally differs for other parents. Or you might find that it varies from baby to baby. The common thread that I found was that of all the people interviewed, most had a really wonderful experience with the public healthcare system with a very special shout out to the very hardworking midwives out there. They are really doing the most. All right. So before I bring in the figures from our first mum, let me gently remind you of the average amount that an Australian family spends setting up for a new baby. In 2021, Westpac found that this figure was roughly $7,918, then approximately $600 a month once the baby had arrived. And just for a little bit of comparison, personally, I spent about

$25,000 during my experience having my daughter Campbell. So already there's quite a big gap between the average and then my own spend. But remember, the average takes into a count everyone in that data pool. There very may well be some of you out there who will end up spending much, much less on your journey and this certainly was the case for our friend Hannah. All right, Hannah is a 31-year-old mum from Melbourne who wrote in to say, Hey, I just listened to your episode about pregnancy costs. I've had two babies in the public system, one C-section and one V-back. I'm very happy to share with you. I had both babies at the same hospital in the same midwife group practice and had a student midwife for my second.

We followed up with Hannah to hear more about her experience within the public health system and it sounds like she not only had an exceptional midwifery team behind her, but that the costs to have her kids were pretty reasonable. Hannah had both of her kids through the midwife group practice or the MGP, which if you aren't familiar with is a method of care that you can be referred through to via your GP really early in your pregnancy. Basically, the MGP enables you to be guided by the same primary midwife and a small supporting group of midwives through your pregnancy, childbirth and into the early weeks of being

at home with a new baby. Now, there are a bunch of different methods of care to choose from. So, for example, you might be going through the public hospital, maternity care stream, where your care is being delivered by a multidisciplinaryan team throughout your pregnancy. This includes a range of different midwives and doctors. You might also choose what's called shared care, which is where your support is often split between a community GP or community midwife and the public hospital clinic. Or like me, you might opt for private obstetrician specialist care, which is then delivered

by a private specialist obstetrician that you have chosen personally who attends appointments and then oversees your delivery. Like Hannah, you might be lucky enough to go through the MGP, which I've only heard really great things about. Hannah's journey begins at about four weeks where I quote, she just knew she was pregnant. And I've heard this from so many different people that sometimes you just know, you know. So at four weeks, some of Hannah's costs included a packet of pregnancy tests at 30 bucks, some ovulation strip tests at $60 and a book by Tony Weschler called Taking Charge of Your Fertility, which cost her about $45. And then at week five, she started taking her prenatal supplements,

which cost her roughly $40 a month, so we're going to add that cost into the mix as we go. Then for Hannah, she didn't accrue any other costs until week 8, where Hannah paid $55 for an out-of-pocket cost for a GP appointment after the Medicare rebate. During week 10, Hannah had her dating scan, which is an ultrasound to basically see how much your baby has developed and what your approximate due date might be. This cost her between $250 and $300. To be thorough, I've used the $300 figure, though. So, to calculate it really quickly,

Hannah spent a total of $570 during her first trimester. Given that Hannah was low risk and didn't experience any intense first trimester symptoms like HG, for those of you playing at home, I had that. Her costs were pretty standard for this portion of her pregnancy. Please keep in mind that these costs were incurred a few years ago, and things have definitely become slightly more expensive, so things like scans and GP appointments might be a little bit more exy today. All right, during her second trimester, Hannah kicked it off with a few tests,

namely a blood test and scan combo for $350, followed by an NIPT test. Now, the NIPT is completely optional and offers a more detailed level of scanning for any common chromosonal differences that might be able to predict early signs of various conditions that your baby might have. You can also opt at this point to find out the sex of your baby and it's all done through a blood test which is currently between $495 and $525 in Victoria depending on where you're going to have it done. Again, I've used the higher figure for our totals so that we keep a running consistent total. Then she didn't have any further costs the lucky thing until week 18 where she booked in a GP appointment to get a referral for her upcoming anatomy scan. Again, this appointment cost her $55 out of pocket after the Medicare rebate.

At week 20, we're halfway there. Hannah had her anatomy scan, which was between $4 and $500. And basically, this is when the sonographer checks that all the important limbs and organs are developing as they should. And of course, you can confirm the sex of the baby if you haven't already gathered that from an NIPT. Then Hannah spent nothing until her last trimester. So during trimester 2, she's spent a total of $1,430, bringing her rolling total for this pregnancy to a very tidy 2 grand.

Now, my friends, we are on what pregnant people often call the home stretch. Usually during your third trimester, you'll go through something called the glucose tolerance test, or for short, the GTT. It measures how efficiently your body processes and clears sugar from your bloodstream. This can help with identifying the possibility of gestational diabetes or GD in your pregnancy, which can impact your experience throughout. During our chat, Hannah mentioned that she was diagnosed with GD in her third trimester. So at week 28, we have a total of $160 to add. She spent $100 on her glucose test strips. She got 40 strips and she bought two packs of them.

And then her inner set hole, which was 60 bucks. She also said that she had some apple cider vinegar. She didn't count that though because it was $0. It was already in her pantry. Hannah knew that she would be susceptible and opted for glucose testing strips instead of the GTT and this was supported by her midwives. She also was taking apple cider vinegar, which helped her and her blood sugars. But this wasn't an out-of-pocket cost because, as I said, she had it in her pantry already.

At 35 weeks pregnant, she topped up on glucose test strips, adding another 100, bucks to her spend. Then at 36 and 38 weeks, Hannah booked in to see an OT to help with her V-back prep, which a V-back means a vaginal birth after caesarian, which is when you plan to deliver vaginally after a caesarean, right? So each appointment cost her $180 out of pocket, and then the only cost left was parking during the birth of her child, which was only 30 bucks because they give birthing parents a little docket to reduce fees on the day of delivery. Is that a money win, I'm going to count it as one. So Hannah has spent a total of $650, taking her rolling total to $2,650 for her entire pregnancy, my friends. So this sits well below the Westpac average and is

maybe 10% of what I paid with my experience with Campbell. So it goes to show that it really depends on your own personal health profile and your preferences and what you choose. But this is just one experience. And to be fair, it's another one from the state of Victoria where I'm based. Naturally, in my head, I had to find another comparison to demonstrate what another parent went through in a state that was completely different to the profile that we've just gone through. When we return from the break, we're going to be introducing another community member and the costs that they incurred while having a child through the public health system on the other side of the country. So guys, don't go anywhere.

Hello, my friends and welcome back to our special episode dedicated to the costs of having a baby in the public healthcare system. We've just heard all of the costs from Melbourne mum, Hannah, and now it's time to dash across the country to meet another mum. Erin is a 31-year-old mum from Perth who wrote into us to say, hey, she's on the money. I've just listened to Victoria's episode on the costs of having a baby. I know I'm a bit behind, but having a nine-month-old will do that to you. And I heard you were after a woman who went through the public health system to do a money diary, and I would love to volunteer as a tribute. I tried to do my pregnancy as cheap as possible and went through a bulk billing community midwife,

then a midwife-run family birth centre, but ended up transferring to the public hospital, so I didn't pay anything for my appointments and only paid out of pocket for two ultrasounds. I also had hospital parking, supplements and physio appointments that I can calculate the cost of for you guys. I was very keen to hear how the services and costs compared over the west side, so I got in touch with Erin to get a rundown on the costs that she incurred. And my friend, she wasn't kidding. It sounds like her experience was super cost effective and deeply supportive. Honestly, bless those midwife run birth centers, right? Erin originally wanted to water birth, and things didn't necessarily go as planned. So she ended up going through a family birth center

instead. If you're considering something like the MGP in Perth or Western Australia, you'll want to look at how these spots are allocated because she did mention that it was based on catchment and what area you are located in. So do your research and what I would be doing is trying to book in as early as possible. Like Hannah, Erin also had a feeling that she was pregnant at around four weeks. So while she was using ovulation tests, there was just something that made her think, yep, I'm sure. So before the five-week mark, her costs included things like ovulation tests, which were just over 13 bucks, and pregnancy tests which she'd acquired in a buy-nothing new group. Honestly, what a money win. I think this woman's a genius. Now, what's interesting about Erin's journey is that she was already seeing

an acupuncturist for fertility reasons. And so she had a session booked in at the five-week mark. By the time the appointment rolled around, she was already pregnant. And you aren't going to cancel now, right? The appointment was $95 out of pocket. At six weeks, Erin saw a community midwife, who worked through a bulk-billed GP clinic. So the session was completely covered by Medicare, an ongoing theme in all of her costs, just as an FYI. The appointment she had was to confirm the pregnancy and also access referrals for upcoming scans. So our rolling total right now is $0. At seven weeks, Erin only paid $2.27 for parking during her scans and blood tests because everything for her was bulk-pilled. I know, how good is it when things like scans along the way

are entirely covered. That is not something that I experienced. So our rolling total right now at seven weeks is $2.27. At week 10, Errant went back to the bulk-billed community midwife for a referral with no out-of-pocket costs incurred there, and during weeks 11 and 12, she had another bulk-billed blood test, followed by an ultrasound. To be fair, this scan did cost $231.75 up front, with $66.75 returned to her via Medicare. So Erin was out-of-pocket at this point for $165 this week. During this trimester, she'd purchase things like electrolytes, some probiotics, some prenatals at different stages. She went through her bank statements for us and she's given us a trimester total of $207 spent on these bits and bobs. So for Erin throughout this trimester, she's spent a total of

$469 and 27 cents, which to be honest, I think is pretty incredible, given that a single ultrasound can cost this much alone or the NIPT if you choose to have it. And I can't wait to see where her total lands. It's also interesting to see how costs might vary depending on which city or state that you live in. If you're from Western Australia and have a similar experience, honestly, please let me know in the comments. I'm so on top of this content at the moment. All right, it looks like there might have been a few more costs incurred during Erin's second trimester, but still, I would say it's pretty low. At week 13, Erin saw her community midwife, which was bog build. Then at 14 weeks, she took a tour of the family birth centre, so a

a parking fee of a wild $1.20 was involved. And she also bought herself a pregnancy pillow this week for $113.46. At week 15, Erin had her first appointment at the family birth center, which was bog-billed, but she had to pay for parking, which was $3.11. And at this rate, I think we should all be having babies in Western Australia. At week 19, Erin had her anatomy scan, which was $165 in total out of pocket. Then at week 21, she booked herself in for a pregnancy massage at $110. Slay Queen, if you weren't already deserving of one, saving this much during your first and second trimester, honestly, deserves a little treat, does it not? Now, many people in our community experience something called pelvic girdle pain, which can come on relatively quickly. And I'm

telling you right now, as someone who experienced this, it is not a fun time. And this is something that Erin experienced. And good thing she saw a physio about it because you shouldn't have to suffer in silence. Of course, pregnancy comes with all sorts of different aches and pains and just niggles, but if you can manage it with the support of a professional, my friend, why not? So, at week 23, Erin paid $177 out of pocket to see a physio, and $33 of that was covered by her private health insurance. Finally, during week 27, Erin completed her GTT test and needed to pay for parking, which was $4.13, my friends. She also saw her physio, which was $80 and 30 cents out of pocket after the rebate. During this trimester, Erin purchased things like, again, electrolytes,

probiotics and prenatals, as well as she's adding some iron and magnesium supplements. So she's given us a total of $331 and 91 cents for all of these. So if we, add all of this up in trimester two, Erin spent a total of $9806 and 11 cents, bringing her rolling total for this pregnancy at the end of trimester to a not so whopping $1,555.38 cents. Will Aaron's pregnancy costs actually come under Hannah's though? I am genuinely invested and I know you guys are as well. So looking at these costs, honestly, most of it is parking for Aaron's final trimester. At 28 weeks, she paid for parking at the birth center, which was $2.1.1. And then at week 30, she visited her physio, which was $80.30 out of pocket after her health insurance rebate.

Over weeks 31, 34 and 36, Erin makes a few more visits to the birth center, paying a total of $5.68 in parking. She told us that parking is free on weekends, which makes some of those visits entirely free unless you start including things like fuel costs. And whilst I am pedantic, I didn't get that pedantic with Erin or myself. Now, at week 35, Erin has another physio visit, which is $80 and $30 out of pocket. Now, at week 38, Erin's pretty keen to have her baby. So she gets a pregnancy massage for $145 and parking at the birth center was $2.54. Then, during the week of her due date, She visits the birth centre and pays $1.48 cents for parking. She also books in for a reflexology massage to kind of help bring on the labour.

If you know, you know. And she said it didn't quite work out the way she wanted, but there's honestly not that long to go. During week 41, Erin goes to the birth centre and they admit her to the hospital because they want to check her fluid levels given that she's now technically overdue. She has an ultrasound and a reflexology massage for 85. bucks paying $10.92 for parking, which is the most she's paid for parking this entire pregnancy if you guys have been keeping track. Now, we're still in week 41 and you guys, she goes into Labor. And they don't even have to pay for parking because Erin's given a permit for being a birthing parent. Such a money win. So throughout this trimester, Erin continued to buy things like electrolytes, prenatals.

She started on the medulla dates and the raspberry leaf tea just like me and has given us a trimester total of three $381.99 for all of these things. Altogether, Aaron's total for this trimester was $845.22, bringing her entire rolling total to $2,300 and $60. Again, this figure is well under the Westpac average, and like Hannes, it was maybe 10% of what I paid during my experience with the private system. And while both of these women had very different profiles, you can already see, See, what you might expect to spend if you choose similar options or care plans should you be choosing to have kids through the public system. Before we wrapped our interviews with these gorgeous community members, we did ask each

mum what she loved the most about the support she received during her pregnancy and delivery and both agreed that the public system was reputable, responsive and really attuned to their needs. Erin said it made her feel really seen and heard throughout the entire process. Even when her baby needed to be admitted to the NICU, the pediatrician allowed her to be close to the baby in the ward, responding in a really compassionate way during a time that could have been a really stressful period otherwise. Hannah mentioned how integral the midwives were in her experiences, plural, and that even seeking out a student midwife was really helpful in having the care that she wanted throughout one of her pregnancies. For both moms, they said that there was

so much value in having a consistent team and continuity of care throughout their birthing experiences and beyond during the home visits. Private or public, the choice is entirely up to you. And now that you've seen the figures just from a few of us, you can only imagine the countless birthing stories and budgets that are flying around. So, my friends, do your research, do what's right for you, for your health, for your preferences, and for your financial well-being. Thank you for joining me for another bumper deep dive series.

I hope that you found it really informative and really illuminating whether or not you are hoping to have a family in the future or whether you're plotting your next step in your journey. If you'd like to continue hearing about the budgets and the birthing costs of having kids in Australia in 2026, my friends, please let us know because I would love to keep sharing them. Who knows? Maybe I'll create an entire mini-series. And a very, very special thank you to Hannah and Erin for sharing your stories with us. I loved hearing them. I feel like the community would have loved hearing them. And getting nosy on your receipts is one of my favourite things to get to do.

If you think that you've got a story, simply slide into my DMs. Let us know what you think. And if you have any follow-up questions or recommendations for us, please let us know. My friends, I'll be back later in the week for a sip of a Friday drink. Until then, please take care of yourselves and of each other. Thank you so much for being part of our community. The advice shared on She's on the Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's on the Money exists purely for educational purposes.

and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and She's on the Money are authorised representatives of MoneyShurper Pty-LTD, ABN, 321649-27708, AFSL 451-289.