“I Could Buy a House”: Woman Shows Hospital Bill After Giving Birth in America, Internet Stunned

• An influencer from Poland shared a breakdown of her hospital bill after she gave birth in the United States
• Although the new mother had health insurance, she felt that the expenses amounted to an unnecessary total
• Internet users were shocked when they saw how much the woman had to pay and shared how things worked in their countries

A Polish influencer, Marta Mielczarska, shared that giving birth in the United States resulted in a sky-high hospital bill. She provided a breakdown of the costs, which shocked the online crowd.

Marta, who has health insurance, uploaded her TikTok video to her account on 14 September, 2025, sharing that she delivered her baby three weeks before the date she posted.

"I knew that the cost of having a child in the United States is absolutely outrageous, but I didn't expect it to be this bad."

Before getting to the totals, the lifestyle and fashion content creator shared that she had a C-section, which was neither planned nor an emergency, and her baby was in the NICU for four days.

Below is the breakdown of the costs she received via mail, although some of what's listed was unfamiliar to her:

• $196.18 (roughly R3 400): Electric breast pumps lent to her while her child was in the NICU
• $78 (roughly R1 300): Disposable collection and ST
• $184.03 (roughly R3 100): Culture screen
• $482 (roughly R8 300): OBUS limited fetus
• $411 (roughly R7 100): OBUS 14 weeks single fetus
• $8 947 (roughly R155 000): Caesarean delivery
• $43 599 (roughly R757 000): RExtraction of Product O
• $176 (roughly R3 000): X-ray exam for the baby's chest
• $194 (roughly R3 300): Other tests
• $4 666 (roughly R81 000): One of the days her baby stayed in the NICU
• $1 853 x2 (roughly R64 000): Hearing test on each ear
• $30 184 (roughly R523 000): Assistance with a respiratory ventilator for the baby
• $20 123 (roughly R350 000): Doctor's bill

The total cost of Marta's birth was approximately R2 180 995.

"I could buy a house with this bill."

Hospital bill stuns the internet

Marta's viral video had thousands of social media users heading to the comment section in confusion. Some people shared how things worked in their countries, while other online commentators remarked how ridiculous they found the costs of the services.

A shocked @ivankarose85 wrote under the post:

"Are they crazy? I feel like the health care system in the United States is the biggest scam in the whole world."

@vasanthanvalasala laughed and joked:

"For that kind of money in Malaysia, you can deliver an entire football team, including the referees and linesmen."

@karo.linaaaa shared with the online community:

"I gave birth in Germany, and I didn’t need to pay anything for the birth. I just chose to get a private family room with my partner, which was €400 (approximately R8 100). This isn’t covered by insurance, so we needed to pay for this ourselves, but it was nowhere near the costs you have in the United States."

@daddyboatphotography added in the comments:

"In the USA, even death is expensive. I saw a video of a guy running away from an ambulance after he had an accident. He wasn’t going to be able to afford the fees."

@wale_zidi, who didn't reveal their nationality, said with a laugh:

"Sorry, even in my third-world country, we have free health care."

A surprised @nicolas.vad stated:

"I'm always flabbergasted to see only one country on this planet charge to have a baby."

Take a look at the TikTok video below:

3 Other stories about birthing experiences

• In another article, Briefly News reported that a mother shared her detailed medical expenses after giving birth via C-section at a private hospital. The breakdown divided South Africans, who defended government institutions.
• A content-creating mother flaunted her top-tier experience at a private hospital. After the woman listed five perks, some social media users felt there was nothing special about what having medical aid would get you.
• A woman shared how she spent under R80 000 to deliver her baby at a private hospital. Other women in the comment section stood behind the new mother and stated that they also had to pay a pretty penny for their babies.

Source: Briefly News