Birth of a child: what are the expenses during pregnancy and baby’s first year?

PicodiMay 25, 2020

According to the UN report from June 2019, the global fertility rate is 2.5 children per woman. Although the population growth rate has been declining since the 1990s, there are 140 million children born around the world every year.

It is no surprise that the arrival of a child increases family expenses. Besides periodical expenditures on food, clothes, and nappies, the baby requires other, more expensive items, like a cot, changing table, and stroller, to name just a few.

Picodi.com analysis team has examined the expenses connected to the birth of a child: pregnancy clothes for mother, hospital kit, household equipment, and the cost of bringing up the child in the first year of life.

Dear children

The shopping list is divided into 7 thematic categories. The expanded kit consists of the basic products, as well as some extra ones that are not essential.

How much money would you have to spend on pregnancy kit?

During the pregnancy, it is necessary for the future mum to expand her wardrobe with clothes of a bigger size. The average cost of basic maternity clothes is around $700. The expanded kit ($985) includes some accessories which may be useful for a pregnant woman: a special sleeping pillow, fetal heartbeat detector, or smart scale.

The hospital bag, which contains items necessary for mum and newborn baby during their stay in a hospital, costs around $119 (or $369 in premium version). Hospital bags can be prepared by mum herself or she could buy a pre-packed set in a store.

Preparing a home for the arrival of a new family member means heavy expenses. A cot with mattress and duvet, changing table, high chair, bather, bottles, pacifiers, baby care accessories — in total, they cost around $1,375. In the advanced version, with things like baby monitor, electronic bouncer, bottle warmer, and other accessories, home improvements would cost around $2,690.

Items connected to the transport of the child are expensive as well. A middle-class, 2-in-1 stroller and a car seat cost around $868. High-end stroller, carrier, and baby wrap would increase the bill to $1748.

Most of the expenses in the baby care products category are diapers. This invention from the 1950s makes life easier for parents, but it empties their wallets at the same time. A yearly supply of cosmetics, cleaning products, and diapers can cost from $791 to $1,059, depending on the financial means of parents.

World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months at least. It means that any supplementary food should be introduced no earlier than after the first half a year of life. The cost of food during this time makes around one-fifth of all the expenses ($915). Obviously, high-end food would be more expensive ($1,097).

When choosing baby clothes, parents often find it hard to resist the urge to buy another cute t-shirt or lovely shoes. However, with a more sensible approach, baby clothes can cost up to $754 during the first year. The parents who give in to temptation can spend as much as $1,131.

Who can afford a child?

In which country having a baby is the most affordable?

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average net wage in November 2019 was $5,409. It means that the cost of the basic kit is equal to one month’s pay.

In comparison, in the United Kingdom, the researched items are worth 1.9 of the average wage (considering local prices). Similar to Australia, American parents would have to pay the equivalent of one salary, and Irish people around 1.1 of their salary. Mexicans and Filipinos are in a worse position and need to pay 6.3 and 7 salaries respectively.

It is worth noting that the Australian government provides various benefits for new parents. Among others, there is Family Tax Benefit which may include a one-off lump sum of Newborn Upfront Payment.

While you’re anticipating your child’s birth, consider checking out Baby Bunting, PatPat, Bugaboo, Metro Baby and Love To Dream. These shops offer a wide range of products for newborns and their parents.

Methodology

This research is based on retail prices in big online stores in Australia and other countries, as of May 2020. Data about average wages come from websites of state statistics offices or relevant Ministries. A list of all products from both standard and premium kits can be found here.

Public Use

Would you like to share information about expenses connected to the birth of a baby? Feel free to use all the data and infographics presented in this report for both commercial and non-commercial purposes as long as you indicate the author of the research (Picodi.com) with a link to this subpage. If you have any questions, please contact us: research@picodi.com.

About Picodi

Picodi is an international e-commerce platform which provides discount coupons for online stores. Founded in 2010 in Kraków, it currently operates in 44 countries and is listed in FT1000 ranking of Europe’s fastest-growing companies. In Australia since 2015.