Having a baby in Shanghai as an expat is genuinely good.
Having a baby in Shanghai as an expat is genuinely good. English-speaking care runs from about 60,000 RMB at a private international hospital to over 100,000 RMB, a public-hospital birth is a fraction of that, and two deadlines decide how smooth it goes: buy maternity insurance about a year before you conceive, and register your maternity file between 12 and 16 weeks.
The care is excellent; the system is unfamiliar. Here is the real path from positive test to bringing the baby home, including the two bits of admin that catch people out.
Where can expats give birth in Shanghai?
You have three broad options:
- Private international hospitals with fully English-speaking maternity care, private rooms, and a hospitality feel. The most established are Shanghai United Family Hospital and Jiahui International Hospital.
- The international or VIP wing (特需/国际部) of a major public hospital, where you get more comfort and some English support at a middle price point, with a large public institution behind you.
- The standard public hospital maternity ward, which is very affordable and clinically strong but busy, mostly Chinese-language, and less private.
How much does it cost to have a baby in Shanghai?
At a private international hospital, maternity packages covering prenatal care, an English-speaking team, a private room and delivery typically run from about 60,000 RMB to over 100,000 RMB. Published United Family packages have been in the region of 79,000 RMB for a natural birth with prenatal care and around 119,000 RMB for a cesarean with prenatal care. A cesarean costs noticeably more because of the surgery and the longer stay, and complications add cost on top.
A birth in a standard public hospital ward costs a small fraction of those figures. The international or VIP wing of a public hospital sits in between. The gap is large enough that it is worth deciding early and, ideally, insuring for.
Does insurance cover it, and when should I buy it?
This is the part to get right before you are pregnant. Most private international maternity insurance carries a waiting period, commonly 10 to 12 months, before maternity benefits apply, so buying coverage after you conceive is usually too late for that pregnancy. If a baby is anywhere on your horizon, sort the policy well ahead of time and check the annual maternity limit against the 60,000 to 100,000 RMB range above. Our health insurance guide walks through choosing a plan.
When do I register at the hospital? (建卡)
This is the step nobody warns foreign parents about, and it has a real deadline. Chinese maternity care runs on a registered file, and on the public route it comes in two parts:
- 小卡, the basic record opened at your local community health centre. Quick, no fasting, about half an hour of questions and simple bloods.
- 大卡, the full maternity file at the hospital where you intend to deliver. This is the one that matters, because it is effectively your bed reservation.
The window is roughly 12 to 16 weeks, and earlier is better so you do not miss the NT scan. Popular hospitals take appointments only and fill their quota, so a walk-in at 17 weeks can mean being told to deliver somewhere else. Book the slot as soon as the pregnancy is confirmed.
Good to know
- Bring your passport plus your visa or residence permit, along with your 小卡 once you have it. The 小卡 is handed in and absorbed into the 大卡 file.
- Fast on the day. Most hospitals want nothing to eat or drink after 22:00 the night before, and an early arrival, because the first appointment bundles six to eight tubes of blood plus urine, ECG and an early scan.
- Private international hospitals handle this differently. They register you into their own system when you book your package, so the 建卡 scramble mostly applies to the public and VIP-wing route. Confirm which applies with your hospital rather than assuming.
What are the main international maternity hospitals?
Shanghai United Family Hospital
A long-established international hospital group with full English-speaking maternity care. The Changning hospital is at 699 Pingtang Road, Changning District, with a Pudong hospital at 1598 New Jinqiao Road. Appointment centre: 400 639 3900, with a 24-hour emergency line.
Jiahui International Hospital
A large international hospital in Xuhui at 689 Guiping Road, with an English-speaking Women and Children's Health Center and academic ties for higher-complexity care. Main line: 400-8683-000, which runs 24 hours.
Confirm current package prices, room availability and inclusions directly with the hospital, because packages change. Book a tour and a first consultation early, since the good obstetricians fill up.
What paperwork comes after the birth?
Start with the nationality question, because it drives everything else. Under Chinese nationality law, a baby born in Shanghai to two foreign-national parents does not acquire Chinese nationality and cannot be registered on a household record. Your baby is a foreign national who was born here, which means they need their own passport and then their own permission to be in China.
So the baby needs four things, in this order, and there is one real deadline. Get the order wrong and you turn up at the exit-entry counter without the passport it stamps into.
- 出生医学证明, the birth medical certificate. The hospital that delivered the baby issues it, usually before you are discharged, or within six months if you have not settled on the baby's name yet. It is free: Shanghai's rules on the 出生医学证明 forbid charging any fee (Shanghai district government rules, as of 2026). Every later document copies the names straight off it, so check the English and pinyin spelling letter by letter before you sign.
- The baby's passport, from your embassy or consulate. They register the birth and issue the passport or travel document. Requirements and fees vary by country, so email yours while you are still pregnant. For one worked example, the US mission in China issues a Consular Report of Birth Abroad plus the child's first passport for about USD 235 in total, roughly two weeks to arrive (US Embassy China, as of 2026). This step has to come before the China permit, because the permit is stamped inside the passport.
- The baby's China residence permit (居留许可) or exit visa, from the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration (出入境管理局). Bring both parents' passports and residence permits, the baby's new passport, and the 出生医学证明 with its 副页 insert, originals plus copies. A child's permit usually matches a parent's and runs up to three years, never past the child's 18th birthday. Processing is about seven working days. Hotline 021-12367.
- Then, and only then, the baby can leave China. Without that residence permit or exit visa in the passport, the baby has no status of their own and cannot clear immigration, so never book the flight around a guess.
Residence permit fees are the National Immigration Administration schedule; the US figures are from the US Embassy in China. Confirm current amounts before you file.
The deadline that matters: Shanghai's exit-entry guidance says a child born here to expat parents should have their first document sorted within 60 days of birth (Shanghai exit-entry service guidance, as of 2026). One practical footnote, since a newborn has no residence document of their own yet: you can file the baby's accommodation registration (住宿登记, free, within 24 hours of coming home) using the exit-entry acceptance receipt (Shanghai 境外人员住宿登记办法).
If one parent is a Chinese citizen and the baby has taken a foreign passport, a separate exit procedure applies through the Shanghai public security exit-entry administration. That case has its own rules and is worth a direct call to 021-12367 rather than advice from a group chat.
Ask your hospital's international patient services team for their checklist. The good ones walk foreign parents through the documents step by step.
Which one is for you
If your insurance covers maternity and you want everything in English under one roof, book a private international package and stop shopping. If you are paying out of pocket but want English support, look at the VIP or international wing of a specialist public obstetric hospital, which is the middle path most families land on. If you are comfortable in Chinese or have a Chinese-speaking partner handling appointments, the standard public ward is clinically strong and costs a fraction. And if you are reading this before conceiving, the single highest-value thing you can do today is buy the insurance.
Common questions
Can expats have a baby in Shanghai?
Yes. International hospitals and the international wings of public hospitals provide English-speaking maternity care to foreign residents.
How much does giving birth in Shanghai cost for expats?
Roughly 60,000 to over 100,000 RMB for a private international package, with a cesarean costing more than a vaginal birth. Public hospitals cost far less.
When do I have to register my pregnancy at a hospital?
Between about 12 and 16 weeks on the public route, and earlier is safer because popular hospitals work to a quota. Private international hospitals register you when you book their package.
Does my baby get Chinese nationality if born in Shanghai?
Not if both parents are foreign nationals. The baby takes your nationality and will need their own passport from your consulate, then a China visa or residence permit.
When should I buy maternity insurance?
Before conceiving. Maternity benefits usually carry a waiting period of around 10 to 12 months.
