The financial cost of having a baby

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Editor's note: Babies are one of the most natural things to happen to anyone, even an inevitability. More so in India. The familial pressure on couples to procreate is constant and is fuelled by a culture that shows no restraint while commenting on the lives of others. But the decision to have a child isn’t simple or straightforward. It requires readiness—mental, emotional, physical and, most importantly, financial. The importance of financial “readiness” for having children cannot be stressed upon enough. You simply cannot have a baby if you don’t have an assured and steady stream of income, apart from emergency savings to cover the expenses that come along with your tiny human. Surprisingly though, this topic hasn’t made it to popular discourse yet. So how much does it cost to have and raise a baby in India? I did the math. Getting over the bump Getting pregnant is the easy part. Or so they say. As more people push the decision of having a child to their mid and late 30s—because they want to get their career sorted, or haven’t yet found …