How do low income earning families afford to have children?

19 comments

1. You can have bills and not pay them.

2. Even poor people have health insurance.

   In fact, really poor people have excellent insurance if they qualify for Medicaid.

3. Many low income families will get Medicare or government assistance for child birth.

4. Medicaid, wic, other government programs specifically ment to support low income families. debt. Living paycheck to paycheck. Children have aspects of their life and development neglected due to limited income which helps countine the cycle of poverty.

   I grew up wayyy below the poverty line. Healthcare was taken care of by Medcaid. Food was covered by ‘food stamps’. Free breakfast and lunch at school. Had a parent that worked low wage jobs until they got hurt. Things spirled after that and life got pretty terrible with homelessness and all that.

   But then other government and nonprofit resources became available. If there’s one thing that should be known about poverty in America, there are a lot of resources that are specifically targeted at single poor mothers with children.

5. It’s probably substantially cheaper to give birth to a child in America if you are really poor. You’ll most likely qualify for Medicaid. Unlike a lot of private insurance, Medicaid doesn’t have a deductible and has no or very low co-pays. With private insurance, even really good private insurance, you’re easily looking at $3,000 or more out of pocket just for the birth. After that, the child would be on Medicaid/CHIP for healthcare. There are childcare subsidies. Public school is free from K-12, sometimes Pre-K too. Food stamps and WIC subsidize food. There are a lot of free or low cost after school and summer programs for poor children, especially if you live in a major city. Housing assistance is available and easier to get if you have children. Clothes/furniture/toys can be bought at Good Will. There are tons of faith-based and other private charities that assist with all kinds of stuff. Honestly, at this point in the U.S. it’s probably much harder for lower-middle or middle-middle class people to afford children, not the really poor.

6. The poor and the rich in United States have easy access to healthcare.

   It’s the middle class that’s screwed.

7. I don’t know how much it cost to have a baby, but I do know over 50% of the babies born in Arizona are on the governments dime.

8. As others have said, Medicaid covers quite a lot (sometimes all) of the cost of having a baby. WIC (Women, Infants, Children.) covers the cost of many things from food and formula to breastfeeding consultations
   Food stamps come into play as well, which provides even more food. School breakfast and lunches are free for low-income families. They just have to apply for it. Low-income housing is also available in many areas for those that qualify.
   This is how my father was able to raise 5 children on one income. All he really needed to worry about was the bills and getting clothing for all of us.

9. Many of them can’t

10. They go into debt (or further into debt)

11. Government assistance.

12. It is pretty expensive. My wife has pretty good insurance, and it still cost us a few thousand dollars to have a baby last year. A lot of people just have to wait and save up until they can afford it. We wanted to have a baby five years ago, but we felt we should wait until we were a bit more stable financially and wouldn’t have to put ourselves into debt to do so.

    It’s not the birth that gets you, anyway. It’s the childcare. I know a few people who quit their jobs to become a stay at home parent because the cost of childcare for a couple of kids was more than their income.

13. They don’t. But the making part is free. And fun.

14. Before my husband and I flipped roles in who was the bread winner, we were on Medicaid and used food stamps. (That’s what they were called then. One Christmas my friends gave us $300 to shop for our kids. It was a very low spot for me and I vowed to climb out of the situation. He was fired, I started my career and we climbed out and stayed out. I had no degree but was tenacious and we made good money.

    I’m VERY happy I went through that humbling period in my life. It made me who I am and it gave me the backbone to never go back again!

15. They don’t have children because they can afford it, they have children without knowing how much it costs.

16. >I could be wrong but it’s not free to have a baby at a hospital is it?

    They don’t pay the bill

17. I think state level medicaid covers more than half of all births. Medicaid is state provided healthcare coverage.

18. Low income people don’t pay for pregnancy or childbirth. They qualify for government insurance.

19. Ummm,the govt has programs for pregnant women and kids including health insurance.