Hospital Charged New Dad $40 To Hold His Baby After C-Section

(CBS NEWS) -- Ryan Grassley had to pay nearly $40 to hold his baby immediately after the child was born via cesarean section.

The Utah father wanted to share the laugh he and his wife got out of seeing the itemized bill with a $39.35 charge for "skin to skin" time, CBS Salt Lake City affiliate KUTV reports. The practice, viewed to have many benefits, is when a new baby's bare skin is placed against its mother's to help them bond.

Grassley said when his son was born at Utah Valley Hospital on Sept. 4, the operating room nurse asked if the couple wanted to do "skin to skin." The baby was cleaned up after the C-section for his moment with Mommy.

"The nurse let me hold the baby on my wife's neck/chest," Grassley posted on Reddit, under the username half throttle. "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."

See the full story on CBS News.