Having a Baby in Costa Rica

So you are thinking of moving to Costa Rica and possibly starting a family?  Raising your children in this land of peace and prosperity sounds like a great experience for everybody but maybe you have some questions about what it’s like to give birth in Costa Rica?

Many of our clients were asking these same questions so we spoke to a few ex-pat couples who either have had babies recently or are just about to have them in Costa Rica.

Before the fun stuff here are some interesting numbers:

Costa Rica ranks 51^st in the world for infant mortality rate at 9.89.  Here are how the countries in North and Central America compare to each other: 

Infant Mortality Rate per 1,000 live births 

Out of the whole American Continent (North, Central and South America) only Chile (#44, 7.19) rates better than Costa Rica.

Some say that infant mortality is an indicator of a countries health care system and wealth.  If you look at the list of countries that rank better than Costa Rica they are all highly developed 1^st world countries. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) rated Costa Rica’s Health Care System at the 37^th best in the world just ahead of the United States who ranks 38^th.  What is even more interesting is that the United States Health Care system is the most expensive in the world whereas Costa Rica’s is just the 50^th most expensive in the world.

As reported by CNN in 2013 giving birth in the U.S. is more expensive than any other country in the world. Total costs average $18,329 for a vaginal delivery and $27,866 for a C-section, with the bulk of the bill going to insurers. However, families with insurance still have to pay about $3,400 out of pocket.

Krista and Chris, one of the ex-pat couples we interviewed for this blog, extensively researched the costs of having a baby in Costa Rica in a private, state-of-the-art maternity hospital facility in either San Jose or Liberia.  Total costs for what they call a luxury natural birth are $3,000.  The cost for a C-Section is around $1,500 more.

For those of us who are math challenged – The cost to have your baby delivered in Costa Rica with first class doctors and facilities is $3,000 – Still less than the average out of pocket costs of $3,400 for a fully insured birth in the United States.  From what Krista and Chris tell us, the level of care offered in the private birthing facilities in Costa Rica are a level above the average of what you would receive in The US.

But this is where the story gets interesting…

You are probably thinking you would hear how Krista was pampered by the ever attentive staff at the CIMA private hospital in San Jose or how the doctor they had chosen for delivery of their first child is a pioneer in the field of natural child birth or how Chris was able to be in the private room throughout the process and be the birth coach as they had practiced, then load up baby pictures to Facebook using the free WiFi in the private recovery room while Krista and their new child rested and got acquainted in the after birth bliss?

The story definitely has a happy ending but it did not go quite as planned…

So, as Krista Says, the baby “was in a hot hurry” and decided to come 2 weeks early.  Well Grandma was not there to help and the trip to the swank birthing palace at the CIMA Hospital in San Jose was off and it became a scramble to not become the first baby to be delivered in a Pacifico Condo.  They called Michael Simons and in no time a rental car was delivered personally by Nelson from Adobe rent-a-car, a dog sitter showed up and off they went with Krista in full labor.  They arrived at the Liberia Public Hospital, were whisked into the Maternity Ward and literally within 35 minutes Kruz was born.

So the birth of Kruz, Krista and Chris’ brand new bouncing baby boy was natural as they had hoped and planned, in the well equipped, capable and efficient Public Hospital Maternity Ward where they were able to do everything they had planned to do in the fancy private facility except for three things:

Ania and Drew, the other ex-pat couple we interviewed, are expecting their first baby in the middle of September 2013.  During their research they decided right away on having a baby in Costa Rica at the public hospital in Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.  So far the pre-natal care they have received locally has been wonderful, detailed and free.  All they have to do is pay their monthly contribution to the “Caja” which is the Costa Rican version of the Social Security system.  The average monthly contribution per family is about $50. 

We are all anxious to see their new baby so check back for another baby blog for details on their birthing adventure.

Costa Ricans who receive a paycheck from their employer are required to contribute to the caja based on their salary and it is an automatic payment.  If one person in your immediate family is contributing to the Caja then your whole family automatically has free health care.  So basically everyone in Costa Rica has very inexpensive, relatively good health care that always covers having babies.

So what are you waiting for?

START MAKING BABIES!!!

Tank Tops Flip Flops Newsletter edition no. 25

At least a dozen people commented to me recently about the fact that I haven’t written a Costa Rica lifestyle newsletter in over a while, having just done a couple of guest blog videos. “What’s up dude, run out of juice? Did the well dry up buddy? Having writer’s block Mike?” Jeez, cut me some slack would ya? It’s only been 6 weeks and I had a lot going on ok. First off, I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL!!!!!!! Then it was my birthday and off to Canada I went. Man, you guys are a tough crowd, and I guess that saying is true: There is very little breathing room between success and failure, love and hate, life and death. But like it or not, I’m back, so take a seat, dial 1-800-ITS-TIME, grab a cocktail and enjoy the ride.

Every time I go back to North America, it reminds me why I love the Costa Rica lifestyle. You can just feel the anxiety and the stress everywhere you go. For me, the toughest decisions I have to make everyday are which color flip flops to wear and whether or not to have a Bloody Mary with my breakfast. Did you know that there actually is a National Flip Flop day? Look it up. My entire life is Flip Flop week, I won’t wear anything else unless I absolutely have to, and even then I rebel. We went out to dinner in Toronto at one of the nicest steak houses in the city, and I had to dress to the nines. I had a really nice pair of designer jeans, a $500 Versace shirt but I still wore my flip flops. You should have seen the look on the face of the Maître D, complete shock, but at Eighty Bucks a T-Bone I guess they figured they wanted my money more than I needed their meat so they let me in.

I won’t waste too much of your time talking about my trip, because you signed up for a Costa Rica lifestyle website, now one about Western New York / Ontario Canada? So let me sum it up in a couple hundred words and get on with the Newsletter, as I don’t want to wear out my welcome.

Buffalo is a dump.  There is nothing else you can say and there is no way to be nice about it. The city makes Cleveland look like a resort destination and we all know that is the armpit of America. Other than the rockin’ Buffalo Wings at the original Anchor Bar, there is absolutely NO reason to ever set foot in this city – Ever.  Save yourself the anguish.

Niagara Falls is of course amazing, but after you go over to the Canada side, you are embarrassed to go back.  I almost denounced my citizenship right then and there. It’s an atrocity.  The USA side of the falls looks like something out of a zombie movie, with abandoned buildings and trailer parks while the Canada side could literally be classified as the National Park that it is.  Pristine streets, gorgeous cafes and the police even wore white gloves; Wonderful.  As we got nearer to Toronto I was once again reminded why I don’t live in a big city; Traffic; Horrible Traffic.  Without a doubt the worst I have ever had to endure in any city in the world, and I used to commute in L.A. everyday.  The city was very hip, lots of bars, lots of night life, and of course I saw the big attractions too; The CNN tower, NHL Hall of Fame, ChinaTown and a Blue Jays game.