Corporate Hospitals Now Charge Extra for Muhurat Deliveries
The cost of childbirth in Hyderabad’s private hospitals has soared in recent years.
Hyderabad: Corporate maternity hospitals in Hyderabad have found a new avenue to make money: By charging an additional fee for delivering a baby at a desired auspicious time chosen by the parents. While the practice of ‘muhurat delivery’ is old, the extra fee is a new concept.
If the parents want the delivery to be between 10 am and 5 pm, the hospital will charge an additional Rs 20,000, and this additional convenience fee will go up to Rs 30,000 if they want the delivery to happen between 5 pm and 10 am.
This fee is in addition to already-steep delivery charges, which can range from Rs 1,60,000 to Rs 2,50,000 for a cesarean section (C-section) surgery, depending on the hospital and room type.
While the practice of muhurat deliveries was limited to affluent families earlier, it has now spread to middle-class households as astrological calculations depend on the child’s time of birth. Hospitals have adapted to this demand, making it a routine part of their service offerings.
A parent of a newborn from Armoor, who did not want to be named, said he paid Rs 20,000 for a delivery at an auspicious time on Friday between 12:30 pm and 1:00 pm.
The cost of childbirth in Hyderabad’s private hospitals has soared in recent years. Premature births with low birth weight, reduced oxygen levels, and the need for treatments like phototherapy for jaundice have led to a significant increase in hospital expenses.
Premature and low birth weight infants require longer hospital stays, often in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), with specialised monitoring and care.
A corporate hospital in Hyderguda charged Rs 28 lakh, in addition to delivery charges, for a premature delivery in the sixth month, keeping the baby in hospital for nearly three months. A 15-day hospital stay for a baby can easily cost around Rs 16 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, excluding maternity expenses, admitted a hospital staff member.
Patients often face additional, non-reimbursable fees for “well-baby packages” and other services, further inflating the bill. Many families, especially those from middle- and lower-income backgrounds, are forced to take loans or make other financial sacrifices to meet these expenses.
Insurance companies have documented a significant increase in C-section deliveries in Hyderabad, particularly in private hospitals. Their claims data provide a clear window into this trend.
National health surveys also reveal a troubling increase in the rate of C-section deliveries in Telangana, especially in Hyderabad’s corporate hospitals, far exceeding the national average. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reported that C-section rates in Telangana rose from 56 per cent to 62 per cent of all institutional deliveries between 2017–18 and 2021–22. By comparison, the national average stood at just 21.5 per cent during the same period, with Telangana’s rate nearly three times higher.
The insurance companies also corroborate this spike. According to an insurance company, at least six out of every 10 maternity claims in Hyderabad’s corporate hospitals are now for C-sections. These figures align with findings from the National Family Health Survey, which reported a C-section rate of 60.7 per cent in Telangana, compared to 21.5 per cent nationally.
