If you have children, how much did it cost when you had each baby? On average, it costs over $12,000 for each birth in the United States. While insurance covers a lot of that, it usually doesn’t cover all of it. On top of that, some states don’t even provide a guarantee of paid maternity leave; although, depending on your employer, you may still receive something.

If you live in the U.S., you know this all too well. We’re just happy that we get a free breast pump with insurance, and every time we look at one of our children’s sweet little faces, we momentarily forget about the hospital bills.

Wouldn’t it be nice if it didn’t cost thousands of dollars to have a baby? Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a guarantee of over 6 months of leave to spend with our children? Wouldn’t it be nice if we had affordable childcare?

Believe it or not, there’s a place in the world where all of these things are a reality. That place is Finland.

On average, it costs $60 for each birth in Finland. This includes expert medical care, compassionate doctors and nurses, a private hospital room for delivery and recovery and even the option of a water birth. Not only that, but the infant and mother mortality rate is the lowest in the world, there’s paid maternity leave and super inexpensive daycare – we’re talking less than $100 each week.

It seems like a head-scratcher that all of this can be possible for just $60. We were probably charged $60 just for the diapers and baby wipes we used during our short hospital stay.

Dr. Aydin Tekay, the Chief Physician at Hus Helsinki University Hospital, believes that it’s 100% possible for countries like the United States to provide the same low cost care for mothers and babies. He says there’s “no reason” that it wouldn’t be possible.

If you have kids, you probably remember just how many doctors visits there are in that first year. In Finland, both mom and baby get free check-ups including vaccinations. Not only that, but parents-to-be even get a free gift box filled with essential baby products.

This all sounds too good to be true, right? Like, how on earth is this possible? The answer? Taxes.

Watch the video below to find out more about how Finland is providing free and low cost health care and child care for mothers and babies.

Would you be okay with a tax increase to help provide free and low cost care for mothers and babies?