A report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality -- a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- said the total, in 2004 dollars, includes payments for hospital childbirth, prenatal office visits, prescription medicines and other services.

The report also found:

-- Average spending for prenatal care for women with private insurance and women with Medicaid was about the same, approximately $2,000. However, inpatient delivery costs differed: $6,520 for those with private insurance and $4,577 average for those on Medicaid.

-- On average, privately insured women paid about 8 percent of their total expenses for pregnancy out of pocket, or about $660 for a privately insured woman with an average level of expenses, while women on Medicaid paid about 1 percent out of pocket.

-- Twenty-three percent of women had some prescription drug expenses associated with their pregnancy, with a median cost of $640, but about three-quarters of all prescription drug expenses were for nutritional products such as prenatal vitamins.