Advice about pregnancy and birth costs in Thailand please!

[CK1980]

Hi, I was hoping someone could help me out with a few questions and advice regarding the costs of pregnancy and birth in Thailand. I have recently moved here and my Thai girlfriend is pregnant. I don’t have a great deal of disposable income and I’m a bit worried about being able to afford everything up to and including the birth. She works here in the finance department for a Thai company but will soon be off work until after the birth. My girlfriend is not too clued up about what free health care she will receive if any. She will need a monthly maternity check up starting this month, I was wondering what the cost of these appointments will be in a local hospital/doctors/clinic or if this will be covered by the government health care system either through her work contract or otherwise, and then the cost of the birth itself, and again whether this will be covered by the government system or not. Any advice and rough costs involved would be greatly appreciated so I can try and budget for everything. Thanks in advance!

[Nick Carter icp]

Why not go and ask in a hospital for the fees ?

Bangkok hospital  prices 

The cost of giving birth at Bangkok Hospital in Thailand depends on the type of delivery and the length of stay: 

 

• Normal labor: A 2-night stay in a private room costs 110,400 Baht 
   
• Cesarean section: A 3-night stay costs 138,000 Baht 
   
• Cesarean section twins: A 3-night stay costs 240,000 Baht 
   
• Tubal ligation post delivery: Costs 38,000 Baht 
   
• Natural birth: Costs 96,000 Baht, with a 3-night inpatient stay 

 

 

[KhunLA]

I would think her health ins. at work would cover everything, if not, the govt ins. and cost is  ...

... 30 baht

 

Wife had surgery last year, at govt hosp, 2 night stay, and it cost all of...

... 30 baht

 

Our out of pocket was for the private room.

[CK1980]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.

 

So my understanding is that the birth itself will be quite expensive, but will be covered by her work health insurance (she can check the criteria for this with her company). Failing that, the govt 30 baht scheme will cover her if we use a govt hospital which is part of the scheme (which I hear are pretty good anyway). Then optional extras can be added and paid for as we go such as private rooms etc.. Even the prenatal check ups should be covered by this, although that's not such a problem, it's the birth cost itself I'm concerned about as it's quite a chunk of money.

 

This seems to make sense, I hope it's correct, please correct me if I'm wrong. 

 

As for the govt 30 baht scheme, it seems from my research that any Thai citizen can use this in any approved hospital without prior arrangement, you just need to make sure that the hospital you are using is approved by the scheme and show your Thai ID card when you arrive to receive free treatment? It seems you don't need to pay in to National Insurance or anything like that as it is covered by standard taxation and available to all citizens regardless if they are employed or not. Anyone got experience with this? As I said, the GF is clueless and my concern is getting a massive bill after the birth because we didn't register or fill out a form or something, or because she hasn't paid in to the scheme. 

 

If anyone out there has recent experience with this and can clarify the above details this would be a great help. Hopefully this is helpful to anyone else in this situation too.

 

Thanks so much guys. 

[rct99q]

First thing I did was fine a qualified Baby Doctor and used them to coordinate everything. The Dr. did regular pre natal check ups, booked hospital & operating room, and follow up care for one year afterwards. His fee, hospital 3 nights, operating costs and follow up was approximately 30,000baht. The 30baht scheme paid for some stuff as well. This was in Nong Khai.

 

If your girlfriend is smart enough to hold a job, and get pregnant, I am sure she is able to ask around for anyone else who has used a private Dr to assist with this.

 

Most Dr's operate private clinics outside of the hospital they have privileges at, so best to ask around. We found it great to work with one person all the way thru the process, about 18 months.

[khunPer]

On 1/1/2025 at 4:51 PM, CK1980 said:

Hi, I was hoping someone could help me out with a few questions and advice regarding the costs of pregnancy and birth in Thailand. I have recently moved here and my Thai girlfriend is pregnant. I don’t have a great deal of disposable income and I’m a bit worried about being able to afford everything up to and including the birth. She works here in the finance department for a Thai company but will soon be off work until after the birth. My girlfriend is not too clued up about what free health care she will receive if any. She will need a monthly maternity check up starting this month, I was wondering what the cost of these appointments will be in a local hospital/doctors/clinic or if this will be covered by the government health care system either through her work contract or otherwise, and then the cost of the birth itself, and again whether this will be covered by the government system or not. Any advice and rough costs involved would be greatly appreciated so I can try and budget for everything. Thanks in advance!

If you girlfriend use a public hospital, then it's free when being a Thai citizen. Some medicine might be extra at a low price.

 

You can a most places rent a VIP-room for an extra fee. It's a private en-suite room, often with space where a relative can stay. There might be more than one VIP-level. It will cost from around 1,000 baht per day for the cheapest level and up to a around 5,000 baht per day; the latter is for the most expensive where I stay.

 

If your girlfriend pays social security at her work, she might have a registered hospital. She will also be eligible for some pregnancy-care. You can read more in the English language leaflet HERE (pdf).
[Edit: Seems like ASEAN NOW won't accept the link, so I give it here without ht...:// prefix and with spaces to be removed:
ohrm. au. edu/ images/ service/ WelfareBenefits/ SSO_English. pdf ]

 

 

When my girlfriend was pregnant we used a private clinic for monthly check-ups, it was quite affordable.

 

If you opt for a private hospital, childbirth can be quite expensive.

[BritManToo]

On 1/1/2025 at 10:51 PM, CK1980 said:

She works here in the finance department for a Thai company but will soon be off work until after the birth.

She'll have Thai SS from her company so free, the only cost will be the standard disease testing for you which is about 250-500bht.

 

My wife used the Thai government hospital, free (250bht for my testing), and the care was top class.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Check to see if your girlfriend's employer provides medical insurance on top of the mandatory Social Security scheme. It may allow her to select the hospital she prefers instead of going to the hospital designated for Social Security benefits. Note that such insurance would only be in force while she maintains her employment.

[CK1980]

Thanks so  much for all the advice everyone, this is much clearer now and a weight off my mind that we wont need to pay a large chunk of cash for the birth.

 

All the best 

[SAFETY FIRST]

On 1/1/2025 at 10:51 PM, CK1980 said:

I have recently moved here and my Thai girlfriend is pregnant

 

On 1/2/2025 at 3:29 PM, CK1980 said:

 

So my understanding is that the birth itself will be quite expensive

 

I've had 2 children born Bangkok Pattaya hospital, C section. 

At the time (2005 and 8), I was offered a package deal 30k baht each buryh.

. I've heard much more expensive these days.