Lee Teng spent nearly $100k on his baby’s birth — here’s why

Local TV host Lee Teng revealed that he and his wife Gina Lin spent about $100,000 on their baby’s delivery and related costs.

Lee, 41, and his non-celebrity wife, who is nine years younger, welcomed their son in July. Their baby arrived earlier than the estimated due date and via caesarean section.

The couple recently shared their expenses on his YouTube channel on Sept 11, where Lee admitted he was “shocked” upon seeing the bill. The Taiwan-born celebrity emphasised that the amount was unique to their situation and not representative of typical birthing costs.

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Lin had a miscarriage in 2020, and the couple kept her latest pregnancy under wraps until the baby’s first month. They said they opted for a Class A ward at a private hospital.

While a standard caesarean section typically requires a four-day, three-night hospital stay, Lin extended her hospital stay to five days and four nights due to her special circumstances.

She said she was initially admitted to hospital for bed rest to stabilise her pregnancy. However, after medical evaluation, the decision was made to perform an emergency caesarean section. This resulted in higher medical costs, totalling about $30,000, which included delivery and accommodation fees.

The couple said the costs for a standard caesarean section in the same ward in a private hospital is about $15,000 to $18,000, while a natural birth costs about $10,000.

Lee said the costs would be lower if the baby had been delivered at a public hospital.

Due to their son’s premature birth, the newborn was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit and under observation for a few days.

The baby’s medical and examination fees added up to about $65,000. When combined with prenatal check-up costs, the total cost of their first birth exceeded $100,000. Lee said some costs were covered by healthcare schemes.

Lin added: “At that moment, I only wanted my baby to be healthy and for me to deliver him safely. I didn’t think about anything else.”

Lee agreed, saying the well-being of his wife and child was most important, and that the money can be earned back.

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.