Giving birth in China with the CFE: hospital costs and what the CFE pays back

For a birth in China, the CFE pays a fixed amount, not a share of the bill: 3,164.11 € for an uncomplicated vaginal delivery and 3,573.64 € for an uncomplicated caesarean, whatever the hospital charges. Against Shanghai United Family's published 2024 packages, that is 30% to 40% of the package price, leaving about 4,700 € to 8,200 € to pay before any epidural, complication or extra night. If you plan a baby in China, join the CFE early and arrange any top-up before the pregnancy.

This guide sets out the CFE rules for 2026, the published hospital prices, what neither covers, and the steps to take in the right order. For the wider picture, read is the CFE enough in China.

What does the CFE pay for a birth in China?

For care from 1 January 2026, the CFE pays two fixed amounts for a birth abroad, the same in every zone:

• Vaginal delivery: 3,164.11 €.

• Caesarean: 3,573.64 €.

Each amount covers the mother's care and the baby's care for a delivery without complications, practitioners' fees included. The CFE table prices no supplement for a complicated delivery.

China is in CFE zone 4, and the CFE has no hospital direct billing there. You pay the hospital, then claim online with the paid invoice. The CFE reimburses in euros by bank transfer; you have 2 years from the first day of the quarter after the care to claim.

Source: CFE, guarantees 2026 (arrêté of 17 December 2025), CFE list of countries by zone and CFE membership guide 2026, read 4 Nov 2026.

How much does a birth cost at an international hospital in China?

Few international hospitals in China publish a delivery price. Shanghai United Family does: its 2024 Prenatal and Delivery Package page lists "Premium" packages. The table compares them with the CFE amount.

The vaginal package includes a delivery room for up to 24 hours, then a private room with the mother's meals, the doctor's or midwife's fee with one office visit within 8 weeks, nursing during labour, and the baby's first care (newborn screening, hearing test, BCG and the first hepatitis B dose). These are list prices for 2024. The hospital says new packages are coming, so ask for the current price before you book.

Other hospitals checked did not publish a delivery price on 4 Nov 2026: Beijing United Family says its packages are being updated, and Parkway Shanghai shows no maternity price on its pricing page.

Source: Shanghai United Family, 2024 Prenatal and Delivery Package, read 4 Nov 2026. Euro amounts at the ECB reference rate of 3 Nov 2026, 1 € = 7.4590 CNY. CFE amounts: guarantees 2026.

What do the package and the CFE amount leave out?

The CFE amount is built for a birth without complications, and so is the package price. These items come on top, and the CFE table does not price any of them as part of a birth:

• Epidural. Not included in the Shanghai United Family vaginal package: 7,000 CNY extra, about 938 €.

• Complicated delivery. The hospital adds a 10,000 CNY surcharge, about 1,341 €, for cases such as a breech birth, a vacuum or forceps delivery, a severe tear or a haemorrhage.

• Extra nights. Days beyond the 2, 3 or 4 nights of the package are billed separately. For scale, Beijing United Family lists a private room at 6,998 CNY a day, about 938 €, before doctors, tests and drugs.

• Neonatal intensive care. A NICU stay for the baby is not in the package. The CFE's rate for a hospital stay in China, which includes intensive care, is 31% of the real cost, so about 69% of such a bill stays with you or your top-up.

• Other items. Drugs to induce labour and transfusions are also excluded from the vaginal package.

The CFE does not say in its 2026 table how it pays extra nights or a complicated delivery around a birth. Ask the CFE in writing before the due date if your pregnancy carries a known risk.

Source: Shanghai United Family 2024 package page; Beijing United Family price list (undated); CFE guarantees 2026, read 4 Nov 2026. ECB rate 1 € = 7.4590 CNY.

What does the CFE pay for prenatal care?

Prenatal care follows the CFE's ordinary rules for China, with a maternity rule on top:

• Consultations with an obstetrician or GP: 21 € per visit, whatever the fee. A midwife visit: 18.55 €.

• Imaging (technical medical acts such as X-rays, scans and MRI): 20% of the real cost.

• Laboratory tests: 20% of the real cost.

• Fetal karyotype: 287.50 € in the 2026 table.

• Maternity rule: the CFE guide says it reimburses certain exams up to 100% (depending on the zone) from the start of the pregnancy, and medical expenses from the first day of the sixth month to the 12th day after the birth. You declare the pregnancy, with the conception and due dates, in your online space.

The table uses the standard 2026 amounts. The guide does not say how the maternity rule changes these amounts for care abroad, so ask the CFE what it will pay from the sixth month before you count on it. Neither hospital lists an obstetric ultrasound separately; the general ultrasound line is shown for scale. The CFE table names X-ray, scanner and MRI at 20% but does not name ultrasound, so the 20% on that line assumes the CFE treats it the same way.

Source: CFE guarantees 2026 and membership guide 2026 (p.25); Jiahui fee schedule for the Shanghai region, updated 15 Jan 2024, "for reference only"; Beijing United Family price list, read 4 Nov 2026. ECB rate 1 € = 7.4590 CNY.

Why join the CFE early if you plan a baby in China?

Two rules decide whether the CFE pays for your birth at all. Both come from article R762-8 of the Code de la sécurité sociale.

• Waiting period. Apply within 3 months of becoming eligible, usually within 3 months of moving abroad, and the CFE covers you from your start date. Apply later and it pays nothing for 3 months if you are under 45, or 6 months from 45. After a cancellation not due to a return to France, the wait is 12 months. You pay contributions during the wait.

• Conception date. If you join more than 3 months after leaving France, maternity is covered only if conception took place after your membership date.

An example: a 34-year-old moves to Shanghai and joins the CFE in her second month there. She is covered from her start date, and a later pregnancy is covered. Had she joined in her eighth month in China, she would have waited 3 months for any reimbursement, and a pregnancy conceived before her membership date would not be covered by the CFE. Read how to stay covered during the CFE waiting periods and how to join the CFE.

Source: Code de la sécurité sociale, art. R762-8; CFE membership guide 2026, read 4 Nov 2026.

How do you add your newborn to the CFE?

A CFE family contract covers your dependants: your spouse, PACS partner or partner living with you, and dependent children who do not work, up to 20. To add a child, the CFE asks for the livret de famille or an extract of the birth certificate. If you are on a solo contract, you move to the family rate. Under the April 2026 scale, a MondExpat Santé member aged 30 to 34 pays 291 € per quarter solo and 600 € per quarter for a family.

The birth amount itself already includes the baby's care for an uncomplicated delivery. What the CFE sources we read do not publish is a deadline for adding a newborn, or the date from which the baby's own cover starts. Ask the CFE before the due date, so that a NICU stay or a later admission is not left uncovered.

Source: CFE membership guide 2026 (p.7); Code de la sécurité sociale L762-5-1 and R762-4; CFE individual contribution table, April 2026, read 4 Nov 2026.

Why does maternity cover in a top-up need planning?

The CFE amount covers part of a package; a top-up or first-euro formula is what pays the rest. Maternity is the part of these contracts with the most conditions. Insurers often apply their own maternity waiting period on top of any CFE one, and many cap maternity at a set amount. A contract taken once you are pregnant may not pay for this pregnancy. Before you sign, ask the insurer:

• What is the maternity waiting period, and does it run from the start date of the contract?

• What is the maternity limit, and does it include prenatal care, the epidural and extra nights?

• Are complications paid under maternity or under general hospitalisation?

• Is the newborn covered from birth, including neonatal intensive care, and how fast must you declare the baby?

• Does it settle the bill directly with your hospital, since the CFE has no direct billing in China?

Read what a CFE top-up is and CFE top-up or first-euro insurance.

Is it different in Hong Kong, Singapore or Thailand?

The birth amounts are the same in all five CFE zones, so the gap depends on the local price. What changes is the rate for any hospital stay outside the birth amount: 31% in China (zone 4), 19% in Hong Kong and Singapore (zone 5), 42% in Thailand (zone 3) without direct billing. Thailand is the only one of the four with CFE hospital direct billing, and a birth under it needs the CFE's prior agreement.

Source: CFE guarantees 2026, list of countries by zone and membership guide 2026, read 4 Nov 2026.

How Alea helps

Alea is a Hong Kong-based broker and the official CFE representative for Hong Kong, China and Singapore. We help you join the CFE in time to avoid a waiting period, then compare maternity cover in top-ups and first-euro formulas from more than 50 insurers, before the pregnancy rather than after. Start with our CFE page, or talk to an advisor for a free quote with no commitment.