Private maternity hospitals are putting pressure on the state system

More than 3,000 births take place in Romania’s biggest private maternity hospitals annually, and the number is expected to rise in the coming period amid the emergence of new private facilities and the Giulești tragedy.
Given an average birth cost of 1,700 euros, private operators cash in over 5m euros from these services at country level.
At present, there are few private maternity hospitals where a woman can give birth, so that the operational ones work almost at full capacity. For private clinics, births are an extremely attractive business, on which they are determined to bet in the following period.
The growth potential is secured given that the 3,000 babies born in private hospitals make an extremely low percentage in the overall level in Romania. According to Health Ministry data, around 200,000 babies are born annually in Romania.
In Bucharest alone around 20,000 births are registered annually, according to National Statistics Institute data, so that the 2,000 private system ones account for around 10%, according to ZF calculations.