Where would you like to give birth? There are several options
For us it does not matter where you give birth. We aim for both an optimal and safe delivery experience
The Dutch obstetric and midwifery care system enables women with a normal, healthy pregnancy to choose their birth location themselves.
Midwives are trained to continually assess whether your pregnancy and delivery are progressing normally. As soon as there are indications you or the baby need some extra care, we will cooperate closely with our colleague-midwives or gynaecologist at the hospital.
It is important that you feel as safe as possible when you are giving birth
Whatever you choose, we’ll support you. We aim for the best and safest birth experience possible. Dilation will happen faster when you feel safe and comfortable. You are the only one that knows where that would. Often, you will only find out where exactly this is during the birthing process itself. Therefore we advise you to be flexible and don’t focus too much on one specific option. You don’t have to make up your mind about where you want to give birth in advance; you can take the final decision once labour has started.
On average, labour for women who are having their first baby will take about 14 hours, although it can go much quicker or slower too. A second labour is usually quicker although it does depend on how the first delivery went
Home birth
Choosing to have your baby at home is a safe option in the Netherlands as Dutch midwives are trained to constantly assess whether the delivery is progressing normally. Also, there is always a hospital nearby. You can give birth safely at home if you can reach a hospital within 45 minutes in case of emergency.
When you are at home, you are in your own environment which helps to give you and your partner a sense of control. This way you can decide the circumstances you want to give birth in whilst you are in your own safe surroundings. During the birth process, we will be assisted by a maternity nurse who will also be there to support you. There are two practical conditions for a safe home birth: the front side of the house needs to have a door or a window (no back entrance only) and one long side of the bed needs to be free.
It is possible that, while you are in labour, we have to decide to transfer you to hospital. For women having their first bay, there is a 50% chance of this happening; most of the time because of a request for pain relief. For a subsequent delivery, a transfer is a lot less likely to happen; about 14%. Emergency referrals rarely happen. Only 3% of our referrals ask for an ambulance to get us to the nearest hospital.
A home birth is just as safe as a hospital delivery. It is not linked to a higher infant mortality rate or a higher number of hospital admissions for newborn infants. These are conclusions from a study that followed more than 80.000 women in 2015.
Outpatient delivery in hospital
If you prefer being in a hospital while you are having your baby, you can choose an outpatient hospital birth. You will always have your own room, bathroom and sometimes a birth pool. During the birthing process we will be assisted by a hospital (maternity) nurse. This outpatient option ensures that you won’t have to organise a transfer to the hospital in case you need a gynaecologist or require pain relief. Or perhaps you feel your house is too small, too hectic or too noisy to accommodate a delivery. A disadvantage of a hospital birth is that on average interventions will take place more often even if perhaps not entirely necessary.
A hospital birth starts at home. Under normal circumstances we would visit you for a check and then we will decide together when we should go to the hospital; normally when you have dilated 5 cm. You can take your own car or a taxi. At the hospital you essentially ‘rent’ a delivery room: you have to contribute to the costs yourself although this does depend on your health insurance. This so called ‘personal contribution’ is about €400.- and will usually be covered by an additional insurance package. We mostly work with the OLVG Oost but in case they are experiencing a high volume of births or when you have specifically requested to go elsewhere, we do regularly cooperate with AMC, BovenIJ and Amstelland hospital as well.
Giving birth in a birth centre
Are you unable or unwilling to give birth at home, but the medical atmosphere of a hospital room does not appeal to you? Then giving birth in Bevalcentrum Oost might be something for you. In a corridor in the OLVG East, rooms have been set up where you can give birth in a homely atmosphere. A bit like at home, but in the hospital. The rooms at the BCO also have pleasant birthing baths. A disadvantage is that we may sometimes not be able to go to the medical delivery rooms for a non-urgent referral. We then have to move to another hospital. The costs for a birth in the birth center are comparable to the costs of an outpatient birth.
If you would like to give birth at home, outside a hospital, but your home is not suitable for this or is not pleasant for you; then you can give birth at the South Birthing Center in Buitenveldert. You can use a bath and laughing gas here. If a medical indication arises during the birth, we will still transfer you to a hospital.
A hospital birth with a medical indication
Sometimes we will need to advise you to go to the hospital for extra checks during your pregnancy or during labour. We will then hand you over to our team of colleagues at the hospital. Here, your delivery will be monitored in a different way; in the Netherlands this is called a medical delivery. You will normally be assisted by a hospital midwife or a consultant. Because you no longer have the option of a home birth, you don’t need to pay extra for a medical delivery.
No room available in hospital?
We are faced with a major shortage of nursing staff in our region, which means that the maternity wards sometimes have to stop admissions. We may not be able to go to the hospital of your first choice for an outpatient or medical birth. But you can trust that we will always find a suitable place. Moreover, we have an agreement with hospitals: if there is an emergency situation, the nearest hospital will always accept us. This means that no unsafe situations arise due to the capacity problem.