Cost of Having a Baby in the Netherlands 2026: Full Expat Breakdown

Quick answer: Basic zorgverzekering covers midwife care and kraamzorg, but the law sets some co-pays for 2026: EUR 5.70 per hour for kraamzorg at home (between 24 and 80 hours, so EUR 136.80 to EUR 456.00) and, if you give birth in a hospital or birth centre without a medical indication, at least EUR 22.50 per day for the mother and EUR 22.50 per baby plus any charge above your insurer’s maximum. Midwife care and kraamzorg do not count towards the eigen risico. Kinderbijslag and kinderopvangtoeslag help with the first years.

We only quote amounts here that come from Rijksoverheid, Zorginstituut Nederland, SVB, UWV, Belastingdienst or an insurer. We give no estimates for things like strollers or formula, because we have no primary source for them.

The fixed amounts for 2026

Prenatal care

From the moment you confirm your pregnancy, you contact a midwife practice (verloskundige). Midwife care is covered by the basic insurance, and you pay no eigen risico for it (Zorginstituut Nederland).

The Zorginstituut table for prenatal tests says:

• The term scan (10 to 14 weeks) comes from the basic package.
• The 13-week and 20-week scans come from a subsidy scheme and are offered to all pregnant women.
• The NIPT is paid from the population screening programme for women without a medical indication; you pay nothing (pns.nl). If you have a medical indication it comes from the basic package.
• Follow-up tests such as a chorionic villus test or amniocentesis come from the basic package and can count towards your eigen risico; ask your insurer (pns.nl).
• An extra scan without a medical indication (a so-called pretecho) is not reimbursed by the basic insurance.

The birth itself

You can give birth at home or in a hospital. In a hospital you sometimes pay part of the costs (Zorginstituut Nederland).

With a medical indication. If your midwife or GP refers you to the hospital, for example because a gynaecologist needs to supervise the birth or because you need pain relief such as an epidural, there is a medical indication and you pay no co-pay. If you are moved from a birth centre to the hospital because of a medical indication during the birth, you also pay no co-pay.

Without a medical indication (poliklinische bevalling). If you give birth in a hospital or birth centre without a referral, you pay a co-pay of at least EUR 22.50 per day for the mother and EUR 22.50 per baby, so EUR 45 per day for one baby. The hospital or birth centre sets its own charge. Your insurer reimburses at most EUR 161.50 for the mother and EUR 161.50 for the baby, which is EUR 323 per day; including the co-pay the insurer therefore pays EUR 323 minus EUR 45, which is EUR 278. If the hospital or birth centre charges more than EUR 278, you pay the difference yourself. The co-pay also lapses if you have a medical indication or use laughing gas for pain relief.

Ask your midwife, the hospital or birth centre and your insurer for the current charge and reimbursement before you choose. Medical preference and safety questions belong with your care team.

Kraamzorg

Kraamzorg is care during and after the birth for the mother and baby. After the birth the kraamverzorgende checks your health and that of your baby (Zorginstituut Nederland).

• Hours: the kraamverzorgende and the midwife decide how many hours you get. You are entitled to at least 24 and at most 80 hours. In principle you receive kraamzorg up to and including day 8 after the birth, in some cases day 10.
• Co-pay at home: EUR 5.70 per hour in 2026. At 24 hours that is EUR 136.80 (24 x 5.70); at 80 hours it is EUR 456.00 (80 x 5.70).
• Birth centre without medical indication: you pay the co-pay of EUR 5.70 per hour, the costs the centre charges for the stay and possibly other costs such as dressing materials.
• In a hospital: no co-pay for kraamzorg.
• During the birth: support for the midwife by the kraamverzorgende (partusassistentie) is free of co-pay.
• Eigen risico: kraamzorg falls outside the compulsory eigen risico.
• Supplementary insurance: if you have a supplementary policy, part or all of the co-pay may be reimbursed. Check your policy.

Tip: you can register with a kraamzorg organisation from week 12 of your pregnancy at many organisations. You choose the organisation yourself, but your insurer has contracts with some of them, which can affect your reimbursement (Zorginstituut Nederland).

Insurance: basic, add-on, or international?

Path 1: Standard Dutch zorgverzekering

The average basic premium is €157 per month per adult in 2026 (Rijksoverheid); your insurer’s price may be higher or lower. For two adults at the 2026 average that is 2 x 157 = EUR 314 per month for basic cover.

You must register your baby with a health insurer within four months of the birth; the basic insurance then applies from the date of birth. Children under 18 pay no premium and no eigen risico. If you register your baby later than four months after the birth, the cover starts on the registration date and costs incurred before that date are yours (SKGZ).

Basic insurance generally does not cover adult dental care, so check your policy if you want a dental add-on. Supplementary insurance (aanvullende verzekering) can also reimburse the kraamzorg co-pay; check the conditions.

Path 2: International expat insurance

International insurance can make sense if you are only in the Netherlands temporarily and not enrolled in Dutch basic insurance. Maternity is often limited and comes with a waiting period. Cigna Global, for example, lists routine maternity care as available once the mother has been covered for 12 months or more, and the waiting period may be 24 months depending on where treatment takes place (cignaglobal.com, plans in detail, read 6 October 2026). Check which plan includes maternity cover. If you become pregnant before the waiting period ends, ask the insurer what applies. Compare it with what Dutch basic insurance already covers; see our guide to private healthcare in the Netherlands before signing anything.

Path 3: Travel or nomad insurance during transition

If you are between jobs or in the Netherlands for a short time, SafetyWing Nomad Health is one option for travel-medical cover. The Essential plan does not cover pre-existing conditions, maternity care or cancer treatment (safetywing.com, read 6 October 2026). It is not a substitute for Dutch basic insurance once you live or work here.

After the birth: registration and admin

You must register the birth within 3 days after the birth, in the municipality where your child was born. The day of birth does not count, and if the period ends on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, you get one working day longer (Rijksoverheid). If you are late, the registrar reports it to the public prosecutor and you can get a fine.

Other admin:

• register your baby with a health insurer within four months;
• apply for kinderbijslag with the SVB;
• apply for kinderopvangtoeslag if you will use registered childcare.

If your partner is joining via family reunification, see MVV visa family reunification for the full process.

Kinderbijslag

Kinderbijslag is paid by the SVB per quarter per child. The 2026 amounts are:

Source: svb.nl, read 6 October 2026. From the third quarter of 2026 the amounts are higher.

For a child aged 0 to 5 that is 2 x 295.07 + 298.40 = EUR 888.54 for the first three quarters; the amount for the fourth quarter is published by the SVB. Check the conditions for your situation on svb.nl; see also our kinderbijslag guide.

If you receive money in another currency, a multi-currency account such as Wise can help; see Wise vs Revolut for expats and the wider best bank account for expats review.

Kinderopvangtoeslag

Kinderopvangtoeslag is paid by Dienst Toeslagen (Belastingdienst) towards the cost of registered childcare. You always pay part yourself. In 2026 households with an income up to EUR 56,412 receive 96% of the costs up to the hourly maximum; above that the percentage falls, faster for a first child than for later children (Rijksoverheid). The 2026 maximum hourly prices are €11.23 for daycare, €9.98 for after-school care and €8.49 for a registered childminder.

Apply as soon as you have signed the contract with the provider, and no later than 3 months after the childcare started; your child must already be born and have a citizen service number. The provider must have an LRK number. See our kinderopvangtoeslag guide and the au pair guide for alternatives.

Parental leave

The sources below give the rules. We do not estimate how much income you lose, because that depends on your employer, your collective agreement and how you take the leave.

Pregnancy and birth leave: the pregnant parent can take at least 16 weeks of leave around the birth and apply for a benefit from UWV (UWV).

Partner: birth leave is once the number of working hours per week, which the employer pays in full, to be taken within 4 weeks of the birth. Partners can also take up to 5 weeks of additional birth leave, within 6 months of the birth, for which UWV pays a benefit of at most 70% of the daily wage (Rijksoverheid).

Paid parental leave: each parent can take 26 weeks of parental leave in total, 17 unpaid and 9 paid. The paid part must be taken in the first year after the birth, and the UWV benefit is 70% of the daily wage; some collective agreements top it up (UWV).

How to bring the number down

1. Check the birth setting. The poliklinische co-pay of at least EUR 45 per day for mother and baby applies only without a medical indication; a home birth avoids it.
2. Check your supplementary insurance. Some policies reimburse part or all of the kraamzorg co-pay.
3. Register your baby on time. Within four months of birth the cover applies from the date of birth.
4. Apply for kinderopvangtoeslag on time. No later than 3 months after the childcare started.
5. Compare health insurance before the deadline. You can switch with effect from 1 January if you cancel by 31 December; policies differ in network and reimbursement.

Closing note

The Dutch system gives new parents a lot of help, but the co-pays and rules above change every year. Check the current amounts with your insurer, the SVB and Belastingdienst before you plan your budget.