The birth of the first child increases the cost of the family by 20%

The National Institute of Statistics (INE) estimates released Tuesday that the birth of a first child results in an average 20 percent increase in monthly household expenses.

This value is calculated for the first six months after the birth of the baby compared to the pre-pregnancy period and is mainly due to “an increase in spending of 52% in retail, 36% in healthcare, 16% in electricity and gas, and 9% in water “, – specified in the NE.

Education costs, on the other hand, increase after a child is six months old.

INE collated administrative data from various sources, namely invoices filed with the IRS, to check how families’ spending patterns changed with the birth of their first child.

“The final impact on total first-birth costs is mitigated by cuts in travel and leisure spending, which show a progressive decline from the fourth month of pregnancy, tackling the following month. months before the birth of their first child,” according to Highlight, published on Tuesday.

Within six months of birth, travel costs are reduced by 34%, and room and board costs are reduced by 31%, “recovering only by the child’s first birthday.”

Costs begin to increase after the fourth month of pregnancy, increasing three months before delivery, when costs are on average 16.8% higher than pre-pregnancy levels.

“In the month of birth, household spending peaks, averaging 19.7% higher in the first six months after birth,” the document says.

The increase in expenses from the fourth month of pregnancy is mainly due to retail purchases.

The month of birth sees a peak in family health spending, which is “roughly twice the spending seen in the pre-pregnancy period,” INE reports, adding: “The scale of the impact on health spending worsens over the six months following birth, observing on the other hand, a 51.5% increase in spending in the retail sector.”

Starting from the first year of life, spending on healthcare and retail trade stabilizes and steadily increases by 26.9% and 16.1%, respectively.

In the months leading up to the birth of the first child, there is an upward trend in spending on gas, electricity, water and financial activities and insurance, which becomes “significant” in the months after birth. Within six months after birth, gas and electricity bills increase by an average of 15.9%.

Transportation, accommodation and food expenses start to decrease progressively from the third month of pregnancy, “falling sharply”, according to INE, in the month of birth and in the following month, when transport expenses decrease by 52.9%. Accommodation and food expenses decreased by 55.6% compared to the pre-pregnancy period.

Starting from the second month of a child’s life, the costs of transport, recreation, accommodation and food begin to increase progressively, “never reaching, however, the levels observed in the months leading up to the onset of pregnancy”, while the cost of living and recovery for 12 years. months of birth is the only exception.

“At the moment, they increase by 4.2% compared to the period before the start of pregnancy, probably as a result of the costs associated with the celebration of the first year of a child’s life,” the institute found out.