Did you have access to health care? In the US, having a baby while in graduate school was profoundly risky from a financial standpoint, and there was a strong bias against women who had kids. I knew families that were bankrupted. Also, they had to completely drain their finances in order to qualify for some forms of public assistance.
As far as I know, it's quite uncommon an any OECD state other than the US to be without quite good coverage for health care bills and medical bankruptcy is even less common—I hesitate to write "unheard of" because I'm sure there are some exceptions somewhere, but it fits the colloquial use of "unheard of", certainly.
It would be "unheard of" in the United States for a Ph.D. student in a normal program to not have good health insurance and the birth paid for. The stipend in the US is ridiculously low, and I can see having trouble affording to take care of a baby, but it is not going to be the medical costs that get you.
Do universities pay for health insurance for PhD students? In my experience, an uneventful birth costs $3k to $5k, with insurance, and it all depends on if the pregnancy costs occur in the same calendar year to avoid resetting the out of pocket maximum limit.
Yes, In Germany, health insurance is proportional to your pay ( as long as you do not go private). There are laws called "Mutterschutz" to protect mothers. The mothers are eligible for 65% of their pay for 1 year (parental leave) or 300€/m if they are not working. The child gets about 200€/m from the Govt. The education is free. If you are on a contract that might end when your child is younger than x years, then the contract will be extended etc.
