Many families - Kenyan and expatriate - have babies in Nairobi, and the private hospitals offer good maternity care. Planning early helps with cost, cover and the paperwork afterwards.

Antenatal care

Most women see an obstetrician (gynaecologist) privately, or attend antenatal clinics at a public hospital or health centre. Your doctor usually delivers at a particular hospital, so choosing a doctor often means choosing the hospital.

Maternity packages

Private hospitals sell fixed-price maternity packages, covering the delivery and a set hospital stay - typically two nights for a normal delivery and three for a caesarean section.

As a rough guide from published packages at the major private hospitals:

  • Normal delivery: around KES 100,000 to 150,000.
  • Caesarean section: around KES 200,000 to 300,000.
  • A private room costs more than the general ward.

Packages usually do not include the doctor’s fees, epidurals, complications, extra nights, or the baby’s care if they need the newborn unit. Ask each hospital for its current price list and what is excluded.

Mission and mid-sized hospitals often charge less, and public hospitals much less.

SHA and insurance

  • SHA pays a set amount towards deliveries at contracted facilities. At public hospitals it can cover most of the cost; at private hospitals it covers only part of a package. Make sure you are registered and paid up well before the due date. See Registering for SHA.
  • Private insurance often has a maternity waiting period of a year or more, and a separate maternity limit. Check before you rely on it. See Private health insurance.
  • Add the baby to your SHA record and insurance soon after birth.

Choosing a hospital

  • Your obstetrician’s hospital.
  • A newborn unit (NICU) on site, in case the baby needs special care.
  • Distance and traffic from home - especially at night.
  • The package and what it includes.

See Nairobi’s main hospitals.

Registering the birth

Births must be registered. The hospital notifies the civil registration office, and you then apply for the birth certificate on eCitizen. You need the birth certificate for a passport, SHA, insurance and school.

Foreign parents should also register the birth with their own embassy for the child’s citizenship and passport. The child then needs the right immigration status in Kenya, usually a dependant pass.

At work

Mothers are entitled to 3 months’ fully paid maternity leave, and fathers to 2 weeks’ paternity leave. See Working in Kenya and the leave calculator.

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