The maternity nurse checks, cares and advises
The maternity nurse helps you to get to know your baby
In the Netherlands, healthy mothers and babies don't stay in hospital after the birth, they go home. This is usually the best and calmest place to recover and to get to know your baby. During the first week after the birth, a maternity nurse will come to your home several hours a day to carry out a number of medical checks. More importantly, she helps you take care of the baby and will be able to provide helpful advice.
Register in time with a maternity care agency
It is best to sign up with a maternity care agency before the 16th week of your pregnancy. If you register later, the maternity care agency of your choice may not be able to accommodate you.
We work together with all maternity care agencies in our area, but most frequently with Mammae Mia, De Kleine Amsterdammer and De kraamspecialist. You can register via their websites or via your health insurer. We do recommend that you register with a maternity care agency in Amsterdam as they follow the same protocols. Also, agencies outside Amsterdam will often pass high parking costs on to you.
When you are around 34 weeks pregnant, someone from the maternity agency will visit you at home for an intake interview. You will be able to discuss any special wishes or expectations you may have regarding the postnatal maternity period. You'll also decide (approximately) how many hours maternity care you will need each day during this visit. The maternity nurse will be able to discuss with you what items you may need for the baby and how high the bed needs to be.
Private (independent) maternity care
Most maternity care is provided by maternity care agencies that employ a number of maternity nurses. As soon as you have had your baby, one of the nurses will come to your home to care for you and your baby.
Would you prefer to meet the maternity nurse before you have your baby? And do you want to make sure there will only be one maternity nurse looking after you? Then private maternity care may be the right choice for you.
Private, independently working maternity nurses are not affiliated with an agency but work for themselves. That comes without pro's and cons. They offer great continuity in care and many young families like that. But some independent maternity nurses have not (properly) organized their backup in the event of illness or absence. Unfortunately, it has happened to us several times that a maternity nurse was unavailable. That is very stressful for everyone, especially during childbirth. Therefore, if you are in contact with an independently working maternity nurse, check asap whether she is available 24/7 for assistance during birth. This is also often necessary for hospital deliveries. Another disadvantage may be that you first have to pay the invoice yourself and only then receive it back from the insurance company.
You can get in touch with a number of maternity nurses that we regularly work with via kraamzorg-professionals. Kraamzorg 1-op-1 is a platform that matches clients with independent maternity nurses.
Costs of maternity care
Maternity care is covered by the basic Dutch health insurance; the minimum amount of time is 24 hours and the maximum is 80 hours spread over a maximum of 10 days immediately following the birth. (The day of the birth is counted as the first day.) If you stay in hospital for a few days after the birth, then these days will be deducted from the maximum number of hours.
All maternity care providers are obliged to charge a fixed personal contribution per hour. Read more about this contribution on Zorginstituut.nl. If you have additional healthcare insurance, your personal contribution may be reimbursed.