If you are pregnant in the Netherlands, you may quickly discover that maternity care here works a little differently from what you are used to.
You may hear unfamiliar words such as verloskundige, kraamzorg and consultatiebureau. You may be surprised that your first point of contact is often a midwife rather than a gynaecologist, that giving birth at home remains an option, or that after an uncomplicated hospital birth you may be home again surprisingly quickly.
For women who have grown up with a different maternity system, it can take a little while to understand how all these pieces fit together.
So here is a simple guide to what you are likely to encounter — from the beginning of pregnancy through birth and the first days at home.
Pregnancy usually begins with a midwife
If your pregnancy is healthy and no additional medical risks have been identified, your main care provider will usually be a community midwife — a verloskundige.
Your midwife follows you throughout pregnancy, carries out regular checks, discusses screening and tests with you, monitors how you and your baby are doing, and talks with you about birth and your options.
If a medical concern arises during pregnancy or labour, you may be referred to hospital-based care. Depending on the situation, that might mean a consultation with the hospital while some of your care remains with your own midwife, or your care may be transferred to a clinical midwife and/or gynaecologist.
This movement between what the Dutch call eerstelijnszorg — primary midwifery care — and tweedelijnszorg — hospital-based obstetric care — is a normal part of the system.
Where can you give birth?
If your pregnancy remains low-risk, you generally have several options: giving birth at home, in a birth centre, or having a poliklinische bevalling in hospital with primary-care midwifery support.
The possibility of a home birth is probably one of the best-known features of Dutch maternity care. It isn't something you are expected to choose, however. Your midwife can talk through the different possibilities with you, including what each setting offers and what would happen if you needed to transfer to hospital during labour.
If there is a medical indication for hospital-based birth, your care will be provided by the hospital maternity team, usually involving a clinical midwife and, when necessary, a gynaecologist.
If you want medical pain relief such as an epidural, this is provided in hospital.
One thing that can surprise women coming from other countries is how quickly you may return home after an uncomplicated hospital birth. A short hospital stay does not mean that postpartum care has finished. In the Dutch system, much of that early care happens at home.
Kraamzorg: the part of the Dutch system you may never have heard of
Kraamzorg is professional maternity care provided in your home after your baby is born. It is one of the most distinctive parts of Dutch maternity care.
For the first days after birth, a kraamverzorgende comes to your home for a number of hours each day. She works alongside your midwife and helps keep an eye on the recovery of both you and your baby.
She may check your temperature and physical recovery, observe your baby's temperature, weight, feeding and general wellbeing, support breast or bottle feeding, help you learn practical newborn care and notice signs that you or your baby may need additional attention from your midwife or another healthcare professional.
She may also help with light household tasks connected with caring for you and your baby.
Perhaps just as importantly, there is someone there during those strange first days when everything is new.
How much kraamzorg will you receive?
A standard indication is around 49 hours spread over eight days, although the actual number of hours can vary considerably depending on your circumstances. Under the current system, the insured range is generally between 24 and 80 hours, and your needs are assessed around the time of birth. (Zorginstituut Nederland)
Kraamzorg is included in Dutch basic health insurance and does not fall under the compulsory deductible. However, there is normally a statutory contribution for care received at home — €5.70 per hour in 2026. Some supplementary insurance policies reimburse this contribution, so it is worth checking your own policy. (Rijksoverheid)
Availability can also vary because the kraamzorg sector has experienced staffing shortages, so the number of hours actually provided may sometimes be lower than the number initially indicated. (Zorginstituut Nederland)
It is therefore worth arranging kraamzorg early in pregnancy rather than leaving it until the final months.
Your partner has a role too
Kraamzorg is not there to replace you or your partner as you learn to care for your baby. Part of its purpose is to help you find your feet.
Your partner can learn alongside you: changing and bathing the baby, recognising feeding cues, settling them, understanding what is normal in those first days, and learning how to support your recovery.
And this matters. The person who has just given birth also needs feeding, sleep, practical help and somebody paying attention to how they are doing.
The kraamweek can be a useful time for both of you to begin discovering what caring for a baby — and caring for each other — actually looks like.
What happens after the kraamweek?
The intensive support of the first days does not continue indefinitely. Your midwife remains involved in your postpartum care for a period after birth, while your baby's ongoing preventive health and development checks gradually move to the consultatiebureau. Your GP remains your point of contact for general medical care.
The end of kraamzorg can feel surprisingly abrupt. For a week, someone has been coming into your home, checking how everyone is doing and helping you understand this completely new little person. And then one morning, you are on your own.
It can be worth thinking about that moment before it arrives.
Who could bring you a meal? Who could hold the baby while you shower or sleep? Who could you call when you've had a difficult day? You may not need a large support network, but knowing where your next layer of support will come from can make those following weeks feel less exposed.
Finding your way through the Dutch system
There are things about Dutch maternity care that may feel reassuring and others that may take some getting used to. You may appreciate the continuity of your midwife or the support of kraamzorg. You may also encounter differences in expectations, communication or approaches to birth that are unfamiliar to you.
You are allowed to ask questions.
Ask why something is being recommended. Ask what your alternatives are. Ask who will be responsible for your care if your situation changes. Ask what is covered by your insurance. And if Dutch isn't your first language, say when you need something explained differently or more slowly.
Understanding the system doesn't mean you need to fit yourself unquestioningly into it. It means knowing enough about how it works to take part in the decisions being made around you and your baby.
And perhaps that is the most useful preparation of all: not knowing exactly how your pregnancy or birth will unfold, but knowing where you are, who is caring for you, what your options are, and where to ask when you need more information.
Irida Hysenbelli — Rite of Passage Doula