This is a bill for a recent labor and delivery service in the United States. And it includes a $39.35 charge for holding the baby after delivery. Really.
The image of the bill, now shared widely on Reddit, shows a charge for “skin to skin after c sec.” The Reddit user who posted it explained more in a few comments. He wasn’t exactly mad about the charge — he said the hospital did a great job delivering his son. Instead, it more of spoke to the absurdity of American health care.
During the C-section the nurse asked my wife if she would like to do skin to skin after the baby was born. Which of course anyone would say yes too. We just noticed it in the bill today.
The nurse let me hold the baby on my wife’s neck/chest. Even borrowed my camera to take a few pictures for us. Everyone involved in the process was great, and we had a positive experience. We just got a chuckle out of seeing that on the bill.
A labor and delivery nurse added a bit of context as to why this charge might show up on a bill — that it requires an additional nurse come in and watch the baby while it’s being held by the mother.
As a labor and delivery nurse, I can kind of explain this. I didn’t know that hospitals charged for it, but doing ‘skin to skin’ in the operating room requires an additional staff member to be present just to watch the baby. We used to take all babies to the nursery once the NICU team made sure everything was okay. “Skin to skin” in the OR is a relatively new thing and requires a second Labor and Delivery RN to come in to the OR and make sure the baby is safe.
The shear fact that this is an actual ‘charge’ is rather outrageous. Even with all of the explanations and Reddit users weighing in, the charge still seems to be absolutely ludicrous. It is like buying four new tires for your car and then getting billed for the air that blows them up. It just doesn’t make much sense.
What do you think?
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