{"id":4979,"date":"2026-07-03T16:48:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/03\/just-gave-birth-or-are-about-to-share-your-story-and-questions-about-costs\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T16:48:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:48:46","slug":"just-gave-birth-or-are-about-to-share-your-story-and-questions-about-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=4979","title":{"rendered":"Just gave birth or are about to? Share your story and questions about costs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"storytitle\">\n<h1>Just gave birth or are about to? Share your story and questions about costs<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORYTITLE\" --><\/p>\n<div id=\"story-meta\" class=\"story-meta has-byline\">\n<div class=\"story-meta__one\">\n<div class=\"story-meta__one-inner\">\n<div class=\"dateblock\">\n    <time datetime=\"2026-07-03T07:03:00-04:00\"><br \/>\n            <span class=\"date\">July 3, 2026<\/span><span class=\"time\">7:03 AM ET<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/time>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORY-META__ONE-INNER\" -->\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORY-META__ONE\" --><\/p>\n<div class=\"story-meta__two\">\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORY-META__TWO\" -->\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"STORY-META\" CLASS=\"STORY-META HAS-BYLINE\" --><\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\" class=\"storytext storylocation linkLocation\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-131886\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"--source-width: 2121;--source-height: 1414\">\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2121x1414+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F65%2Fba%2F7e90836a45d2b4e93c08f133dcbb%2Fgettyimages-487702279.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2121x1414+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F65%2Fba%2F7e90836a45d2b4e93c08f133dcbb%2Fgettyimages-487702279.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"pregnant woman with doctor\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><br \/>\n        Ariel Skelley\/Digital Vision\/Getty Images<br \/>\n    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>What does it cost to give birth in the U.S. these days? Maybe you saved and planned ahead but were still hit with unexpected expenses.<\/p>\n<p>Trying to map out costs can be tough. What did you wish you knew? How could you have been more prepared? What stumbling blocks did you face in terms of healthcare choices and managing the costs? We want to hear from you.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re reporting on the cost of giving birth in the U.S. for a series called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/g-s1-83627\/health-care-helpline\" target=\"_blank\">Healthcare Helpline<\/a>, produced by NPR and KFF Health News. The series helps you navigate the hurdles between you and good care.  <\/p>\n<p>New or prospective parents, what questions or reflections do you have? What are you worried about?<\/p>\n<p><em>Click below to share your questions and story with us. We may have a reporter reach out to discuss your story and help find answers.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/health-care-helpline-share-your-story\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Click here to go to the form and share your story.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"tag tag--story\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/tags\/134204352\/pregnancy\">pregnancy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"TAGS\" --><\/p>\n<div class=\"share-tools share-tools--secondary\" aria-label=\"Share tools\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"share-tools__service share-tools__service--facebook\"><button class=\"fbStorynx-s1-5879531\" data-share-facebook='{\"storyId\": \"nx-s1-5879531\" }' data-metrics-ga4='{\"category\":\"share\",\"action\":\"share\",\"clickName\":\"facebook\"}'><b class=\"share-tools__service-name\">Facebook<\/b><\/button><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-tools__service share-tools__service--flipboard\"><button class=\"storynx-s1-5879531\" data-share-flipboard='{\"storyId\": \"nx-s1-5879531\" }' data-metrics-ga4='{\"category\":\"share\",\"action\":\"share\",\"clickName\":\"flipboard\"}'><b class=\"share-tools__service-name\">Flipboard<\/b><\/button><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-tools__service share-tools__service--email\"><button class=\"share-tools__email-link\" data-story-id=\"nx-s1-5879531\" data-metrics-ga4='{\"category\":\"share\",\"action\":\"share\",\"clickName\":\"email\"}'><b class=\"share-tools__service-name\">Email<\/b><\/button><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"SHARE-TOOLS SHARE-TOOLS-SECONDARY\" ARIA-LABEL=\"SHARE TOOLS\" --><br \/>\n<!-- END ID=\"NEWSLETTER-ACQUISITION-CALLOUT-DATA\" DATA-NEWSLETTER=\"{&amp;QUOT;NEWSLETTERID&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;HEALTH&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;TITLE&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;HEALTH&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;MARKETINGHEADER&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;SIGN UP FOR THE HEALTH NEWSLETTER&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;FREQUENCY&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;EVERY WEEK&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;SHORTDESCRIPTION&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;GET THE LATEST STORIES ON THE SCIENCE OF HEALTHY LIVING.&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;STICKYDESCRIPTION&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;SIGN UP FOR THE NPR HEALTH NEWSLETTER FOR THE LATEST STORIES ON THE SCIENCE OF HEALTHY LIVING.&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;CONTENTIMAGE&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;HTTPS:\/\/NPR.BRIGHTSPOTCDN.COM\/1C\/AD\/0CDC43224A099FE276DE2739AAFA\/VIEW-NL-NPR-ORG-QS-D42736A702DB51CAE25424E22DB82CF689B2854F2C7AC91801D83B3545DA6088488B4B60649209376C7AB11143E155D0999761A05CABEBA3772AE9F656926F54D79FAF8C61955F98F3E363D01BC22DFF6659377D689DAF8B.JPG&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;STATICMARKUPDIR&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;\/BUCKETS\/BLOGS\/HEALTH\/SUBNAV.HTML&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;BRANDINGDIR&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;\/BRANDING\/SECTIONS\/HEALTH\/&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;BRANDINGLINK&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;HTTPS:\/\/WWW.NPR.ORG\/SECTIONS\/HEALTH\/&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;RECAPTCHASITEKEY&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;6LCDN9IZAAAAAOHT985BJJBZJKBJKSXDXK3GEKST&amp;QUOT;}\" --><br \/>\n<!-- END ID=\"CALLOUT-END-OF-STORY-MOUNT\" --><\/p>\n<div id=\"callout-end-of-story-mount-piano-wrap\" class=\"callout-end-of-story-mount-piano-wrap\">\n<!-- END ID=\"CALLOUT-END-OF-STORY-MOUNT-PIANO\" CLASS=\"CALLOUT-END-OF-STORY-MOUNT-PIANO\" -->\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"CALLOUT-END-OF-STORY-MOUNT-PIANO-WRAP\" CLASS=\"CALLOUT-END-OF-STORY-MOUNT-PIANO-WRAP\" --><br \/>\n<!-- END ID=\"END-OF-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" CLASS=\"RECOMMENDED-STORIES RECOMMENDED-STORIES-PIANO\" ARIA-LABEL=\"RECOMMENDED STORIES\" --><br \/>\n<!-- END ID=\"END-OF-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT\" CLASS=\"RECOMMENDED-STORIES\" ARIA-LABEL=\"RECOMMENDED STORIES\" --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just gave birth or are about to? Share your story and questions about costs July 3, 20267:03 AM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}