Husband Refuses To Split His Pregnant Wife's Prenatal Health Bills Since They Were Her Doctor Appointments & Not His
While they have always paid for their own doctor's visits, prenatal exams are different.
Africa Studio / Shutterstock An expectant mother is concerned about how her prenatal medical bills will be handled after her husband admitted that he would not be splitting them with her.
The pregnant woman’s husband believes he should not have to contribute toward her prenatal care bills since the appointments are not specifically for him.
Sharing her story to Reddit, the 25-year-old woman revealed that she is 31 weeks pregnant with a baby girl. Up until recently, she claimed that she and her husband always split their bills fairly.
“When I was making more money than him, I paid a larger percentage of the bills; now that we make about the same, we split bills 50/50,” she wrote. “We split bills for things that we share (groceries, the house, electricity, etc.) and pay separately for things that only apply to one of us.”
"One expense we’ve normally kept separate is doctor’s visits," she continued. "I would pay for my checkups, dentist appointments, etc., and he would pay for his."
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However, now that the woman is pregnant with their child, she believes that her husband should split the bill when it comes to prenatal checkups.
“When I told my husband that the prenatal healthcare bill was really expensive and thought we should split that as well, he told me that was ridiculous since it’s a doctor’s visit and we normally pay for our own stuff,” the woman shared.
The woman pointed out that her husband’s argument was flawed, given that her prenatal appointments were not only meant to monitor her health but their baby’s as well.
Since they already split the costs of the baby’s crib, stroller, clothes, and other necessary supplies, she presumed that it was only fair to also split her doctor’s visits. The woman even offered to cover most of the bill, but her husband still claimed that it “made no sense” to him.
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“We’ve already agreed to split her healthcare and any other baby-related costs after she’s born, so I don’t understand why that doesn’t apply to her healthcare now,” the woman wrote.
While the mom-to-be claimed that she normally wouldn’t protest her husband’s refusal to split bills, her prenatal bills were far too expensive for her to handle on her own. "AITA for wanting some help with these bills?" she asked Redditors. "What might be a fair compromise if splitting 50/50 is unreasonable?"
Commenters argued that both of the baby's parents should cover prenatal care.
“It's a medical expense for his kid. Of course, he should be contributing,” one user commented.
“Who the [heck] does he think these prenatal appointments are FOR? They're to make sure that the baby is healthy, and your health is the number one indicator of that. Is he going to nickel and dime you on everything?” another commenter questioned. “You guys need to get on the same page and fast.”
“Under the law in many states that would fall under the purview of child support payments if you two weren't married. So maybe consider divorcing his Scrooge [butt] so he'll actually pony up what he owes,” a third user joked.
Marriage, and especially parenthood, requires a team effort from both parties. This includes an equal amount of love, involvement, and financial sacrifice — starting from the very beginning.
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Even though prenatal doctor appointments are not for a father, they are intended to check up on the well-being of his unborn baby while they are still in the womb. It is part of a childcare cost that a father should be willing to help cover, especially given just how pricey prenatal care can be in the United States (roughly $2,000 if you do not have health insurance).
Just like a crib, stroller, and diapers, prenatal care is an essential part of having a baby that both parents should be willing to pay for.
Thankfully, the woman updated her post, revealing that her husband apologized and claimed that he would help with the prenatal bills.
After work, "he immediately apologized when he walked in the door and handed me a chocolate shake (my number one pregnancy craving)," she wrote.
“Of course, I was happy but also didn’t want to have arguments like this in the future so we agreed it was finally time to switch to a joint expense account,” the woman added. “We’re opening a joint savings account as well.”
“I’m happy that he’s apologized," she concluded, "and we’ve made a plan to move forward together.”
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.