Couple Presented With Tip Screen at Prenatal Sonogram Appointment in Viral Post
"What are we even doing here, people?"
Published Feb. 5 2026, 3:30 p.m. ET
If there is anything in this world that our fractured society can agree upon, it is that tipping culture and associated expectations have gone so far off the rails that we are bordering on absurdity. Indeed, we have reached a proverbial tipping point when consumers are expected to tip in decidedly non-tipping situations.
Case in point: a Reddit user has gone viral after sharing a photo of a tip screen on a Clover payment processing device following a prenatal sonogram appointment.
Giving a tip at your mom and pop coffee shop, where the service is always stellar, and you feel valued as a customer? Absolutely. Picking up a take-out order at the friendly local pizza joint that is struggling to compete with the major chains? No problem.
Tipping the staff at a medical facility after your partner received a prenatal sonogram? That is definitely a new one. Continue reading to learn more about one Redditor's trip through tipping torture.
A man was asked to tip at a prenatal sonogram appointment.
According to a trending post in the r/EndTipping Subreddit, user FireDad_01 shared a photo of a tip screen on a Clover payment processing device presented to him by an employee wearing a top that reads "Sonographer".
"Excited to get a [peek] at our little bundle of joy," Reddit user FireDad_01 writes in the post. "Couldn't believe afterwards when she ran the card and showed me the tip screen. What are we even doing here, people?"
There has been no shortage of viral TikTok videos and resilient consumers calling out companies for forcing customers to tip in various situations. However, a medical patient being presented with the expectation to tip following a procedure is certainly taking things to an unquestionably unethical and dangerous level.
However, there is significantly more context that the Reddit user provided, which helps to explain why an ultrasound business is asking for a tip.
Some businesses offer nonmedical ultrasonography services.
As the University of Colorado Anschutz's School of Medicine's Associate Dean for Rural Health, Mark Deutchman, MD, wrote in a previous edition of American Family Physician, some couples may elect to visit businesses — rather than credentialed medical facilities — for nondiagnostic, or otherwise nonmedical ultrasonography services.
In the viral Reddit post, some users have described them as "entertainment ultrasounds," while some businesses refer to the service as a "keepsake ultrasound."
"My wife and I went to this type of place numerous times when she was pregnant," Reddit user Hsduncan responded. "They give you great photos of the baby as a 3D ultrasound and regular ultrasound (the OB gives terrible pics, but photos obviously aren't their focus). Plus, they let you take your time and look at the baby, and it made my wife feel more comfortable that everything was okay. That being said, it's insane there's a tip screen. I never tipped. I was honestly offended they'd even ask."
Indeed, user FireDad_01 (the original poster) confirmed that the photo was taken at a "standalone pre-natal imaging center" within "a small strip mall space" that other users have referred to as an "entertainment ultrasound" business.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that "It's such a special feeling seeing your baby, that I'm sure many people follow through with a tip, because they are so happy at that specific moment."