Profiles of resource use, and their
associated unit costs, for each planned place of birth are reported in detail in appendices 1 and 2 on bmj.com.25 The total mean
costs per low risk woman planning birth in the various settings at the start of care in labour were # 1631 ($ 1950, $ 2603) for an obstetric
unit, # 1461 ($ 1747, $ 2332) for an alongside midwifery
unit, # 1435 ($ 1715, $ 2290) for a free standing midwifery
unit, and # 1067 ($ 1274, $ 1701) for the home (table 1 ⇓).
If she wanted coverage to take care of all the
costs associated with her funeral (the average
cost being around $ 10,000), she could purchase 7
units of coverage for $ 69.95
per month.