Rachel Kiser
Blogger | Mom of Two

Finding out you are pregnant is often one of the happiest moments of a woman’s life. Sadly, with an estimated 1 in 4 pregnancies ending in miscarriage, what was once exciting can quickly turn sorrowful. As so many women wade through the murky emotional and physical waters of miscarriage, there is rarely time or energy to discuss another stressful aspect of this loss: the financial burden. Miscarriages can be expensive, it turns out.

Janie Faville, a 27-year-old Social Worker from Kansas City, took to social media to share an honest peek into her explanation of benefits statement post-D&C. For those who don’t know, a dilation and curettage procedure (also known as a D&C) is often necessary for women who have missed or late-term miscarriages.

Faville and her husband found out that her baby’s heart had stopped just a week after seeing a healthy child on the ultrasound screen at their 8-week appointment. Her OB-GYN gave her the option of waiting for things to happen naturally or going in for surgery. Unable to consider the turmoil of the unknown, she decided to get a D&C the next morning.

As you can see on her benefits statement below, Faville’s care at the hospital cost $5,584, with her out of pocket cost ending up at $1,369.57. And that’s with good insurance.

Janie Faville

Politics of healthcare aside, what a devastating blow to be dealt in the middle of losing something so precious. Not only are women all at once letting go of their hopes and dreams, being put under for a delicate medical procedure, and processing how to share what has happened with others, they often, also, get into a real financial predicament.

Can you imagine the fear of so many women who miscarry and have no savings in the bank? Or the large number of singles families who live paycheck to paycheck? Something of this magnitude could be ruinous.

I know, personally, when I was going through our recurrent miscarriages, money was not a thought in my mind as I sat on the table in the ultrasound room. It wasn’t on my mind when I waited for our missed miscarriage to complete, and it certainly wasn’t in the weeks following as I grieved. Can you imagine receiving this sort of bill in the mail after the fact? It must feel like a sock in the gut, a painful reminder.

But Faville’s post did more than shed light on a tough situation; it encouraged countless others to share their stories, as well. One commenter on a public Facebook group said, “With no insurance I paid 11,000 for my miscarriage. Our healthcare system needs a lot of work when I pay more for losing a baby than having one.”

“Our last miscarriage was complicated and cost several thousand dollars,” added another. “No grieving parent should have to worry about a bill after a loss.”

We believe the same. As women, we are given the great ability, gift, and responsibility to bear and nurture life. In so many ways, the expense of receiving care for our bodies can be prohibitive and even destructive to us and our families. We are thankful for brave women like Janie who raise their voices to bring awareness to the issues that so many of us face.

About Rachel Kiser

Rachel is a wife and mother living in Raleigh, North Carolina. She’s a fan of good coffee, wearer of gray t-shirts, and is constantly starting books she will never finish. Her family is her joy, and she loves to engage with other moms and dads on matters of parenting. Her blog posts have also been featured on the Today Show Parenting Blog and Scary Mommy.

View all posts by Rachel Kiser here.