New mom says she got charged $4,000 for skin contact with her newborn

A woman on TikTok told her husband that he was charged $4,000 at the hospital - just for having skin-to-skin contact with their newborn daughter.

In a video uploaded to the account @jandjfamily1, Jenny Mukendi recited a list of the hospital bill to her husband, Josh, after the birth of their daughter Kimmery.

Jenny said the bill was $28,200, including the insurance coverage.

Some of those things that resulted in that cost were the hospital room, valued at close to $3,700, the epidural, over $17,200, and food, over $170.

Jenny also revealed that skin-to-skin contact for her was free, but for her husband, it was a whopping $4,000.

Appearing baffled while cradling the baby, Josh chimed in and said: “How is pizza $176, and how do they charge me for weighing my daughter on my own chest?”

Towards the end of the clip, Jenny added that they have “30 days to set up a payment plan”, which was met with another bewildered expression on Josh’s face.

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“How is pizza $176, and how do they charge me for weighing my daughter on my own chest?”@jandjfamily1/TikTok

People took to the comments section of the post to share their thoughts, many of which were just as surprised and saddened that skin-to-skin could be costly.

One person wrote: “Charging for skin to skin is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“These hospital bills be OD!!!!!! Ours totaled 33K,” another added, revealing what they had to pay.

A third wrote: “Lmao, they had my boy eff’d up with that skin-to-skin charge,” and Jenny responded: “My husband is ready to tear the hospital up for that charge.”

Someone else, who invites people to come abroad to Europe to have children, added: “THEY CHARGE FOR SKIN TO SKIN WITH THE BABY YOU BIRTHED? I invite all of you to Norway/Europe in general.”

A similar situation of being charged for skin-to-skin contact also happened to another.

In October 2016, CBS News reported that a Utah man named Ryan Grassley had to pay $39.95 to hold his baby immediately after the child was delivered via cesarean section.

Skin-to-skin contact is where a baby’s bare skin is placed against its mother to promote bonding.

Grassley and his wife had a “positive experience” but “got a chuckle out of seeing that on the bill.”

Janet Frank, a spokeswoman for Intermountain HealthCare’s Utah Valley Hospital, told the outlet there was a charge for skin-to-skin contact for bringing another person into the operating room (OR) and for the safety of the mom and baby during the cesarian delivery.

Indy100 reached out to Jenny and Josh via email for comment.

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