Is a pacifier a chargeable item in your facility?

Jolie, BSN · May 30, 2003

The ones provided by the formula companies are not charged. The Nuks which are comercially available are charged, although I don't know how much.

layna · May 30, 2003

Thank-you, Jolie. I will have my assistant contact the formula company about this.

SmilingBluEyes · May 30, 2003

NO the formula companies send 'em along with formula and bottles/nipples. so not chargeable to the hospital, just to those who buy formula, as a passalong charge.

NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN · May 30, 2003

I don't have the slightest idea how we get them, but we have three different types: The NUK's, the childmed preemie (vanilla scented?) pacifiers, and the wee pacifiers for extreme preemies. None of these are charged to the patient.

Browneyedgirl · May 30, 2003

Since pacifiers are a substitute for actual care (from MOMMIES, not NURSES), I wish ALL hospitals would STOP providing them at all.

I think it would be IDEAL if all hospitals would at least strive to become designated as "Baby-Friendly" by the World Health Organization.

that's my 2 cents.

fergus51 · May 30, 2003

Pacifiers are chargeable for normal babies at most hospitals I have worked in. For those in the NICU they are considered an important aspect of care and are not usually charged. We do also make pacifiers by using the formula nipples attached to large syringe plungers.

I don't really ever want to be in a completely baby friendly hospital, but I do like many of the principles behind it.

NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN · May 30, 2003

I can't speak for the well-baby nurseries, but in our NICU pacifiers are used all the time to promote "self" soothing and non-nutritive sucking. It's particularly important for preemies and a large number of other situations/circumstances because of the depressed or dyfunctional sucking reflexes exhibited in those types of babies. I don't feel they should be charged, but that's just a personal opinion. :)

Mimi2RN, ASN, RN · May 31, 2003

We do have NUK pacifiers, available for any baby, but they are a charge item. They used to cost $6-$7 apiece.......Now we can't get into the computer program to look up the cost of charge items, so I don't know if they have gone up. Mostly it's the level II babies that need them, sometimes along with a little sweet treat to keep them happy. We do make them with nipples, too.

I feel sorry for those poor babes whose moms say "No pacifiers", they nurse their babies and leave when they fall asleep. Those moms don't seem to understand about non-nutrative sucking. I'm always please to find a thumb or finger sucker at those times. One babe was born with sucking blisters on both wrists!

sbic56, BSN, RN · May 31, 2003

Pacifiers are rarely used at our place. No charge. (But very nice to have around when some babies just need to suck!)

imenid37 · May 31, 2003

yes we charge for the nuk pacifiers.

Since pacifiers are a substitute for actual care (from MOMMIES, not NURSES), I wish ALL hospitals would STOP providing them at all.

i don't agree that totally baby friendly is the way to go in our culture, though some ideas are good. if babies only suck when they are hungry and need to nurse. why do they suck their fingers, thumbs, etc. in utero? i guess i am a little biased toward pacifiers. two of my 3 took them. they were a sanity saver for me. these girls LOVED to suck. they were healthy breastfed infants. the third sucked her thumb and will still put it in her mouth in her sleep. we were able to take the pacifiers away and tell the girls they were too "grown up" to use them. not to be offensive, but please don't imply that a mom who uses a pacifier isn't taking care of her baby. she just has a diffrent idea of how to do this than you do perhaps

layna · May 31, 2003

A very valid point and observation made by imenid37! I still have fond memories of watching my son on ultrasound at 26 weeks sucking his thumb. :-)