Best Health Shares for Maternity

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Every year, so many people ask me which health share is best for maternity. I’m not surprised. A lot of health share members are young, healthy individuals and families. And when health shares break down where member contributions actually go, maternity sharing requests can make up a significant portion of those expenses.

So in this post, I want to save you time and help you focus on what actually matters when you’re comparing health shares for maternity.

Quick answer: If maternity is the main reason you’re choosing a health share, I’d look at Zion HealthShare, Sedera, Samaritan Ministries Classic with Save to Share, or Christian Healthcare Ministries Gold with CHM Plus. Those are the options where unlimited sharing is available for eligible medical bills if something big happens with your pregnancy or your baby.

The 3 Things That Matter Most for Maternity

When I evaluate a health share for maternity, these are the three things I pay the most attention to:

Eligibility and waiting periods. Do you have to be married? Do you have to be a member for a certain amount of time before conception for the pregnancy to be eligible for sharing?
What you’ll actually pay to have your baby. That means the maternity sharing amount, your member responsibility, and whether there are additional costs if something unexpected happens.
How much is available for sharing if something big happens. Is there a limit per pregnancy? Is the baby’s NICU care counted against that same limit?

Everything else is details. Does the health share reimburse an office visit or lab work? What about certain prenatal tests or other smaller maternity expenses? Those things matter, and you should absolutely check the member guidelines to see what’s included and what’s not.

But at the end of the day, you can probably find a way to pay smaller medical bills if they aren’t eligible for sharing. What you probably can’t afford on your own is a six-week NICU stay. Or, in my son’s case, a NICU stay of almost six months with multiple surgeries.

That’s why I weigh the third point most heavily. Here’s how six of the biggest, most well-known health shares compare.

Medi-Share

My verdict: Not recommended for maternity, because of the $125,000 maternity limit.

Medi-Share has been around a long time, so a lot of people are familiar with it. But that doesn’t mean it’s the best option for you.

Eligibility. You need to be married at the time of conception. There’s no waiting period, but you must already be a member when you conceive. If you join while already pregnant, that pregnancy is treated as a pre-existing condition and isn’t eligible for sharing.

What you pay. You’re responsible for your Annual Household Portion (AHP). At minimum, that’s $3,000, plus provider fees along the way.

If something big happens. Medi-Share generally doesn’t cap large sharing requests, but maternity does have a limit: $125,000 per pregnancy event. That phrase matters. The $125,000 includes prenatal care, delivery, postpartum care, and complications for both mother and baby. If your baby ends up in the NICU, that isn’t a separate limit. It comes out of the same $125,000.

The average cost of having a baby is under $30,000, so for a normal pregnancy and delivery, $125,000 would be plenty. The problem is you don’t get to choose whether something unexpected happens.

Learn more: Medi-Share member guidelines

Zion HealthShare

My verdict: Yes, absolutely, as long as you’re willing and able to wait six months before getting pregnant.

Eligibility. Zion HealthShare is a non-religious health share, so marriage isn’t required. There is a 6-month waiting period for maternity. If you join today, you need to wait at least six months before conceiving for that pregnancy to be eligible for sharing. If you’re already pregnant or planning to get pregnant in the next few months, Zion HealthShare may not be a good fit right now.

What you pay. The maternity sharing amount is either $2,500 or $5,000, depending on the Initial Unsharable Amount (IUA) you choose. If your baby needs NICU care, there’s an additional IUA for the baby.

If something big happens. Zion HealthShare has no annual or lifetime limit on eligible major medical needs, including maternity. If you end up with a NICU situation, you’re not capped at a certain dollar amount. This is huge!

Learn more: Zion HealthShare member guidelines

Samaritan Ministries

My verdict: I’d consider Samaritan Classic, but only with the optional Save to Share program added.

Samaritan Ministries has been around for decades and is a Christian health share.

Eligibility. Members must be married for maternity sharing to be available. You also need a two-person membership (or its equivalent), and you must be at that level at least 300 days before your due date. Since an average pregnancy is about 280 days, that basically means being on at least a two-person membership about a month before you conceive.

What you pay.

Samaritan Classic: $1,000 IUA plus a 30% co-share that maxes out at $3,000, so roughly $4,000 total.
Samaritan Basic: $2,000 IUA plus a maternity co-share of up to $13,500.

For home births and vaginal births after C-section (VBAC), the IUA is waived in both programs. That’s a nice feature if that’s your plan, but you’ll still pay the co-share.

If something big happens. Maternity needs have a maximum sharable amount of $497,000 on Classic and $486,500 on Basic. (I believe Samaritan has raised this to an even $500,000, but I’m not yet seeing that change in the member guidelines.)

Samaritan’s optional Save to Share program provides additional sharing for eligible needs beyond those limits. Because you simply don’t know what will happen during your pregnancy or after your baby is born, I wouldn’t choose Samaritan for maternity without it.

Learn more: Samaritan Ministries guidelines

Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM)

My verdict: Yes, but only the Gold program with CHM Plus. That’s the only combination I’d look at.

CHM is one of the oldest and most well-known health shares, and it’s faith-based.

Eligibility. There’s a marriage requirement for maternity sharing. Your estimated due date must be at least 300 days after you join, which means waiting about a month after joining before conceiving.

What you pay. Maternity is shared on all three programs, but the maternity responsibility amount is very different at each level:

Gold: $2,500
Silver: $5,000
Bronze: $9,000

If you call CHM’s maternity line within the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, you can take $500 off that amount. It’s definitely worth making that phone call.

If something big happens. CHM has a $125,000 maximum per illness, and in this case, per pregnancy. CHM Plus is the add-on that increases that amount, and I see it described incorrectly all the time:

Silver or Bronze + CHM Plus: adds $100,000 for each year you’re a member, up to $1 million.
Gold + CHM Plus: unlimited sharing on eligible medical bills right away.

Congenital conditions. If your baby’s birth was shared through CHM’s maternity program and you’re a Gold member who stays on Gold, CHM shares up to $200,000 for bills related to a congenital condition. On Silver or Bronze, that drops to a maximum of $25,000, which may not be enough for something like a congenital heart defect.

Learn more: Christian Healthcare Ministries guidelines

Sedera

My verdict: Yes, because there are no caps or limitations on large eligible medical needs.

Eligibility. Sedera is non-religious, so there’s no marriage requirement. Your expected delivery date must be at least 12 months after your membership start date. If you join now, that means waiting roughly 2 to 3 months before getting pregnant.

What you pay. Your standard IUA doesn’t apply. The maternity amount replaces it:

$5,000 for a vaginal delivery or an emergency C-section
$7,500 for a non-emergency or elective C-section

If something big happens. Once your baby is born, anything beyond routine newborn care becomes the baby’s own separate need, and there are no caps or limitations on eligible medical bills.

Don’t miss this: you must add your baby to your membership within 30 days of birth. Sedera’s guidelines are clear that if you miss that window, all of the newborn’s prior medical bills are unsharable. If your baby is in the NICU, nobody is thinking about enrollment forms, so put a reminder on your calendar now. This 30-day rule is similar across all the health shares in this post.

Learn more: Sedera membership guidelines

Knew Health

My verdict: Not recommended if maternity is your main reason for joining, because of the $250,000 limit on NICU care and complications.

Knew Health is non-religious, and on paper it looks almost identical to Sedera. But there are a couple of important differences.

Eligibility. No marriage requirement. Your pregnancy must begin after 90 days of active membership, and your estimated delivery date must fall after your first 12 months of membership.

What you pay.

$5,000 for a vaginal delivery or an emergency C-section
$7,500 if you elect a C-section that isn’t medically necessary

Unlike Sedera, sharing for the delivery may be limited to 80% of the total cost after the increased maternity IUA has been met. The same 30-day rule for adding your newborn applies here too.

If something big happens. This is where Knew Health is very different from Sedera. NICU care and complications from a premature birth are treated as a separate need for the baby, and that sharing is limited to $250,000. That’s double what Medi-Share makes available, but it’s still a limit.

Knew Health may be a perfectly good fit for someone else for other reasons. But if maternity is why you’re joining, it’s not the one I’d recommend.

Learn more: Knew Health member guidelines

Side-by-Side Comparison

Health share	Marriage required?	Waiting period	What you pay for maternity	Limit if something big happens	My take
Zion HealthShare	No	6 months before conception	$2,500 or $5,000 (+ baby’s IUA for NICU)	No annual or lifetime limit	Recommended
Sedera	No	Due date 12+ months after start	$5,000 ($7,500 elective C-section)	No limit; baby’s care is a separate need	Recommended
Samaritan Ministries	Yes	2-person membership 300+ days before due date	Classic ~$4,000; Basic $2,000 IUA + co-share up to $13,500	$497,000 Classic / $486,500 Basic; unlimited with Save to Share	Classic + Save to Share only
Christian Healthcare Ministries	Yes	Due date 300+ days after joining	Gold $2,500 / Silver $5,000 / Bronze $9,000 ($500 off with early call)	$125,000; unlimited on Gold + CHM Plus	Gold + CHM Plus only
Knew Health	No	Conception after 90 days; due date after 12 months	$5,000 ($7,500 elective C-section); delivery may be shared at 80%	$250,000 for NICU and complications	Not for maternity
Medi-Share	Yes	None, but must be a member before conception	AHP (minimum $3,000) + provider fees	$125,000 per pregnancy event, mother and baby combined	Not for maternity

The Bottom Line

When you’re choosing a health share for maternity, make sure you’re comfortable with:

The member requirements and waiting periods
What you’ll pay when you have your baby
And most importantly, in my opinion, whether unlimited sharing is available if something big happens

The health shares in this comparison with unlimited sharing available for eligible maternity and newborn needs are:

Zion HealthShare
Samaritan Ministries (with Save to Share)
Christian Healthcare Ministries (Gold program with CHM Plus)
Sedera

Guidelines change, so always check the current member guidelines for yourself before you enroll.

Member Guidelines

Have questions about any of these health shares? Leave them in the comments on the video above.

Health shares are not insurance and do not offer insurance coverage. Membership in a health share does not guarantee the payment or reimbursement of medical expenses. Each organization operates under its own membership guidelines, which determine what expenses may be eligible for sharing. This publication is for informational purposes only and is not provided by an insurance company. For state-specific notices and full program details, please visit the respective health share’s official website.