Hugging your children apparently costs a pretty penny: A Utah couple was billed about $40 by a hospital for the privilege of holding their newborn baby. After giving birth to little Samuel, parents Ryan and Lidia Grassley were asked by nurses if they wanted "skin-to-skin contact," ABC News reports. Later when they received an itemized bill for the hospital trip, they were shocked to find a charge of $39.35 for "skin-to-skin after C-sec." The Utah Valley Hospital later defended the bill, saying the cost went toward covering the "additional staff" needed to put the baby securely in the mother's arms. "It seemed ridiculous," Ryan said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The diminishing power of willpowerIn the Spotlight ‘Try harder’ attitude may not be the best way to achieve long-term goals
-
Greenland, Colombia, Cuba: where is Donald Trump eyeing up next?Today's Big Question Ousting Venezuela’s leader could embolden the US administration to exert its dominance elsewhere
-
Wilde Cambridge: home-away-from-home in a prime city spotThe Week Recommends This laid-back aparthotel is the perfect base for a weekend of exploring
-
TikTok secures deal to remain in USSpeed Read ByteDance will form a US version of the popular video-sharing platform
-
Unemployment rate ticks up amid fall job lossesSpeed Read Data released by the Commerce Department indicates ‘one of the weakest American labor markets in years’
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
