Mounting costs of child  delivery heightens anxiety of couples 

• Only 39% women deliver in hospital as CS cost reach N300,000

By Adebayo Obajemu 

In Nigeria today, getting pregnant has become a source of joy and pain for many a couple. The reason for the latter is not far fetched: soaring costs. Nothing exemplifies the deepening crisis in Nigeria’s healthcare system more painfully than the rising  cost of childbirth. 

Across the country, couples are being faced with mutually exclusive dual emotions: the arrival of a new baby which ordinarily should bring joy ; but the other emotion is the cost attached to delivery, whether vaginal (normal delivery), or CS (Caesarean  section) have plunged many couples into financial distress.

Rising hospital bills, hidden charges and sundry other challenges, such as the hostile attitudes of some health workers at hospitals  force couples  to choose between delivering safely in the hospital or going the  risky  route of alternatives, such as traditional birth attendants  (home births).

In both  public and private health facilities, the cost of antenatal care, normal delivery and Caesarean Section (CS) has soared astronomically.

Tales of Woes

Biola Adeyanju,  a new nursing mother,  had a painful story to tell, and  the pain of labour was only part of it.  The more painful story  was the cost of giving birth. While she recovered on her hospital bed, her husband,  Dada, spent larger part of  the day jumping  from one payment point to another,  purchasing  drugs, and settling bills. What Dada Adeyanju and her wife Biola thought would be an affordable delivery at a government hospital quickly became a financial stress.

“Normally citizens prefer general hospitals because of the belief that their services are cheaper, but that is no longer the case,” Adeyanju told Business Hallmark. His was laden with stress of one who had reached unenviable financial exhaustion.

He  recalled how the hospital bill kept increasing with total abandon.”First it was ₦54,000. Later it became ₦63,000. After that, we kept buying drugs. It was not  easy at all”.

According to him, the experience was no fun at all. He noted that what started  as hope of   welcoming their baby soon  morphed  into an endless cycle of payments, prescriptions and uncertainty. “Every time you think you are done paying, they bring another list,” he said.

Sometimes it was drugs to purchase. At other times, laboratory tests, gloves, disinfectants or baby supplies.

He narrated to BH that even after donating blood, they were asked to buy additional consumables.”You just keep spending because you don’t have a choice. Your wife is in labour, your baby is coming, and you cannot start arguing.”

But for Chima, whose wife recently delivered at General Hospital, Gbagada, the bills were only part of the problem. “People go to the general hospital because they expect the cost of childbirth to be lower, but things have changed. General hospitals are now for people who have money. They ask you to buy things you don’t even need, they’ll tell you to buy many drugs, and in the end, you won’t even use them.”

He advised families whose relatives require a Caesarean Section at the Gbagada General Hospital, Lagos, to be   prepared to spend a large sum of money.

“If you don’t have between ₦700,000 and ₦800,000, don’t even bother going. If you don’t have that kind of money, don’t bother. They are also fond of asking you to buy excessive drugs,” he added.  Others, who spoke to BH at the hospital say some unlucky  one may even pay up to  ₦1,000,000 if there’s little complications.

From Frying Pan

Chima said he was hurt by contrast between the amount they paid and the conditions they found themselves in.  The ward , according to him, was overcrowded, with mothers sharing limited space. “You can hardly get  cots,  and everywhere there are broken windows, which allowed mosquitoes into the ward at night, while buckets had been placed beneath leaking sections of the roof to collect rainwater.

“There are no baby cots and mosquitoes are everywhere – even where newborn babies are kept. You can’t sleep properly at night. If you are paying so much money, you should at least get value for it,” he said.

Inspite of his  complaints, he lauded  the quality of medical care.”They have very good doctors; they attend to patients promptly, especially during emergencies. You will see many doctors working together to save lives, they are professional in that aspect.”

“General Hospital is no longer what it used to be. By the time you get there, what you budgeted for is no longer what you end up paying. They keep sending you from one place to another for different tests, and sometimes they even ask you to repeat them,” he said .

Their story is just a fraction in many.

Dr. Makinwa Sola , an obstetrician, told Business Hallmark that  the cost of a caesarean section varies significantly from one state to another and also largely depends on the type of hospital. He noted that Ondo State experimented with  a free CS policy during the administration of former governor Olusegun Mimiko, although he could not confirm whether the program is still in place.

He noted that  many public hospitals across the South-West currently charge between ₦150,000 and ₦200,000 for a CS, while private hospitals charge significantly higher fees.

“In private hospitals, especially the high-end facilities in Lagos, a caesarean section may cost as much as ₦3 million, while medium and lower-tier private hospitals may charge between ₦1.5 million and ₦2 million.

“The difference is understandable because private hospitals receive no government subvention. They pay staff salaries from internally generated revenue, provide their own electricity, security and water supply, and also contend with multiple taxes and levies imposed by different government agencies.”

At high-class private hospitals in upscale areas of Lagos like Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and Lekki, and Ikeja GRA, such as top-tier

facilities like Evercare Hospital Lekki, Reddington Hospital, and Iwosan Lagoon Hospitals require significant upfront deposits prior to admission.

Your Money or Your Baby

In these upscale hospitals, normal vaginal delivery ranges from ₦400,000 to ₦800,000+, while a Caesarean section (C-section) ranges from ₦1.5 million to ₦3 million+, heavily depending on the room tier and specific hospital package.

In lower-class or mainland residential areas of Lagos (such as Agege, Alimosho, Isolo, or Ikotun), a normal vaginal delivery at a small-to-medium private clinic or maternity home typically costs between ₦150,000 and ₦300,000, according to Business Hallmark’s findings.

For a caesarean section (CS) in these budget-friendly private facilities, prices generally range from ₦350,000 to ₦650,000, depending heavily on whether you booked your antenatal care there or arrived as an emergency.

A ₦180,000 bill that morphed into  ₦1 million

For a Lagos father, Jonathan Adeyemi, what began as a projected ₦180,000 bill for a CS at Ayinke House, within the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, eventually spiralled into a debt of over ₦1 million.

When Shade, his wife, was admitted in January 2025, his expectation was that everything was planned adequately. But shortly after the baby was delivered on February 7, doctors informed him that the newborn had developed complications and would require prolonged intensive care.

Everything changed from that moment – fresh bills arrived daily. There were charges for the incubator, specialised nursing care, laboratory investigations and an endless stream of prescriptions. “When I paid ₦180,000, I genuinely believed it was the major expense we would face to safely welcome our baby. I had no idea it was only the beginning of a much longer and far more expensive journey.

“The special care unit came with daily charges for the incubator, specialised nursing care, laboratory investigations, treatment, water, soap, toiletries and other items in quantities far beyond what my baby actually needed. I would wake up every morning, queue to make payments, carry samples to the laboratory, then rush to the pharmacy,” he lamented.

The days passed and bills kept rising, but there were more challenges in store. “What made everything even more difficult was that the hospital was understaffed. Beyond the financial pressure, I found myself taking on responsibilities I never expected. I spent hours standing in line to make payments and collect laboratory results. I was repeatedly carrying blood samples for tests, sometimes several times a day, including full blood counts, electrolyte tests, infection screenings and other investigations needed for my baby’s treatment.”

The hidden price of neonatal care

The baby’s jaundice meant repeated tests and ongoing treatment. Every investigation attracted a separate bill. Every medication had to be sourced. At times, Adeyemi admitted, the emotional strain became almost unbearable.

“You are watching your baby fight to survive, while at the same time thinking about where the next money will come from. The expenses did not stop there, the hospital frequently ran out of essential supplies, I was regularly directed to outside pharmacies to buy medications, intravenous fluids, cannulas, feeding tubes and other consumables before treatment could continue. Family members and friends stepped in to help, without them, I don’t know how we would have managed.”

His wife, still recovering from surgery, could do little but watch. While she remained on her hospital bed, he spent his days moving from one hospital building to another, shuttling between laboratories, pharmacies and payment points to ensure both mother and baby received the care they needed.

Another mother, Mrs  Sonia Alex , who delivered at the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, noted that  she spent a total of ₦160,000 to have her baby.

A mother from Iyana-School shared a similar experience. She said she paid ₦38,000 for a normal delivery at Alimosho General Hospital, Igando, when she had her first child, while a CS at the facility costs between ₦130,000 and ₦200,000. However, when she had her second child at a private maternity hospital, the difference was striking. A normal delivery cost ₦120,000, while a CS was ₦350,000.

For many women, the  soaring cost of delivery has become the reason they stay away from hospitals. One of them is Bimpe Ogun , a nursing mother, who gave birth at home just a few days ago with the help of a traditional birth attendant (TBA) in the Ikotun area of Lagos. She told  BH she spent ₦35,000 on the delivery after abandoning plans to give birth in a government hospital.

According to her, she had registered for antenatal care at one of the state general hospitals, but realised she could not afford to deliver there. During antenatal visits, doctors informed her that her baby was not properly positioned and that she would require a CS to save both her life and that of the baby.

“I was told to deposit ₦300,000 for the delivery. My husband is a tricycle operator and couldn’t afford it. We had no choice but to look for another option. My neighbour, where I sell pure water and soft drinks at Ikotun Bus Stop, directed us to a traditional birth attendant who helped me deliver the baby.”

Bimpe survived, so did her child.

Experts warns

For a past president of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON), Dr. Joseph Akinde, the rising cost of maternal healthcare is pushing more women away from hospitals and into unsafe childbirth practices.

“Currently, only 37 per cent of deliveries in Nigeria are attended by skilled birth attendants. If more families become unable to afford hospital fees, that percentage will fall even further.”

According to him, the rising cost of antenatal care, normal delivery and CS has become a major barrier to accessing skilled maternity services at a time when the cost of living continues to rise across the country.

WHO and LVASA-SRS report

According to the latest joint estimates released in 2025 by the World Health Organization and partner UN agencies:

Maternal mortality ratio: About 993 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (2023 estimate)

Estimated maternal deaths: Around 75,000 women died from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes in Nigeria in 2023, accounting for nearly one in three maternal deaths globally

For Lagos: about 430 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births from a 2024 statewide population survey using the indirect sisterhood method.

A newer Lagos State Verbal and Social Autopsy Sample Registration System (LVASA-SRS) report released in 2025 estimated 833 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births over its 12-month study period.

The report also found wide variation across local governments, with Somolu recording about 154 per 100,000, while Badagry recorded about 4,210 per 100,000.