Pregnancy & Maternity Care in NL: Expat Guide

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How Dutch Maternity Care Is Organised

If you are pregnant in the Netherlands, you can contact a midwife (verloskundige) yourself. The midwife usually provides care during pregnancy and around the birth. A GP or gynaecologist can also provide this care, but the Zorginstituut notes that few GPs still do (Zorginstituut Nederland).

Care is split into two levels. The midwife gives care for most pregnancies. If there is a medical indication, the midwife refers you to a gynaecologist, for example because of high blood pressure, complications in an earlier pregnancy or birth, an abnormality in the unborn child, or because the unborn child is growing differently than expected. Care in hospital is usually provided by clinical midwives and doctors in training under the gynaecologist who is ultimately responsible. If there is no longer a medical need, you go back to the midwife.

Your Midwife (Verloskundige)

According to the Zorginstituut, the midwife:

• checks the baby’s growth and your health during the pregnancy
• analyses your risk and refers you where needed
• gives information about prenatal screening
• helps you think about practical matters, such as registering with a kraamzorg agency, writing a birth plan, information on pain relief and the places where you can give birth
• gives care during and after the birth

Most people have their first appointment between week 7 and 10. To find a practice, ask your English-speaking GP for local practices, and ask each practice about its languages and waiting list before you register.

Prenatal Screening and Scans

Every pregnant woman is offered scans and tests, and you choose yourself which you want. According to Zorginstituut Nederland and pns.nl:

A scan without a medical indication, such as a sex scan or a 3D or 4D scan (pretecho), is not reimbursed. Follow-up tests after an abnormal result are covered by the basic insurance, but the costs often first count towards your eigen risico (pns.nl).

The NIPT is a blood test for chromosomal conditions such as Down syndrome. Discuss the options with your midwife; there is no right answer, only your informed preference.

Make sure your Dutch health insurance covers follow-up tests adequately. Compare Dutch health insurance options with our Health Insurance Wizard →

Where to Give Birth, and What You Pay

You can give birth at home or in hospital (Zorginstituut Nederland).

• At home: you pay no own contribution.
• In hospital with a medical indication: your midwife or GP refers you because it is important that a gynaecologist guides the birth, because you need pain relief such as an epidural, or to avoid extra risk. You pay no own contribution.
• In a hospital or birth centre without a medical indication (poliklinische bevalling): you pay at least €22.50 for the mother and €22.50 per baby per day. The hospital or birth centre charges for the birth, and your insurer reimburses at most €161.50 for the mother and €161.50 for the baby. For one baby that means the insurer reimburses €323 minus your €45 contribution, which is €278. If the facility charges more than €278, you pay the difference.
• The own contribution falls away if you give birth in a hospital or birth centre and use nitrous oxide for pain relief, or if you receive a medical indication during labour.

The basispakket is the same for everyone, but each insurer decides who provides the care and where, so check your policy conditions (Zorginstituut Nederland).

Kraamzorg: Postnatal Home Care

Kraamzorg is care during and after the birth for you and your baby (Zorginstituut Nederland).

What it includes: after the birth the kraamverzorgende cares for you and your baby, checks the health of both, supports breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, gives advice on caring for the baby and supports your family.

How to arrange it: register with a kraamzorg organisation. Many organisations accept registrations from week 12 of the pregnancy. You choose the organisation yourself, but your insurer has contracts with some of them, which can affect your reimbursement, so ask your insurer. About 2 months before the birth you have an intake with the kraamverzorgende, who estimates your hours.

How many hours: you are entitled to at least 24 and at most 80 hours, set directly after the birth by the kraamverzorgende and midwife. It depends on factors such as whether mother and baby were admitted to hospital, whether the baby is breastfed and whether there were complications. Because of a shortage of kraamverzorgenden, you may get fewer hours than first determined.

How long: in principle up to and including day 8 after the birth, in some cases up to day 10.

What you pay: an own contribution of €5.70 per hour for kraamzorg at home in 2026, and nothing for kraamzorg in hospital. For 49 hours that is €279.30 and for 80 hours it is €456.

Vaccinations and the Consultatiebureau

Pregnant women are offered a whooping cough vaccination (kinkhoestprik or “22 wekenprik”) as part of the national vaccination programme. Ask your midwife about it between weeks 14 and 22 and about when to book it (rijksvaccinatieprogramma.nl).

After birth, your baby follows the Dutch vaccination programme. The national schedule lists vaccinations at 6 to 9 weeks, 3 months, 5 months, 12 months, 14 months, 3 years, 5 years, 9 years or 10 years (HPV) and 14 years, and an RS-virus vaccination for babies in the first weeks (rijksvaccinatieprogramma.nl, schedule updated 8 September 2026). The consultatiebureau (youth health care) will tell you the dates for your child.

Registering the Birth

You must register the birth within 3 days after the birth, at the municipality where the 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 more working day, with at least 2 working days in total. If you are late, the municipality reports it to the Public Prosecution Service and you can be fined (Rijksoverheid).

• Who: the father or duo-mother is obliged to register. The mother may. If they cannot, someone present at the birth, the owner of the house, or a staff member of the institution where the child was born registers.
• What you need: a valid identity document. If recognition or a name choice was made before the birth, bring that deed. The statement of birth from the hospital or midwife is useful but not required.
• What you get: a birth certificate (geboorteakte). Registration is free, but an official copy costs money.
• Online: some municipalities allow online registration, and only the father or mother can do it that way.

For BSN and registration processes, see the BSN registration guide. After registration, also arrange health insurance for the baby, child benefit (kinderbijslag via the SVB) and, if applicable, childcare allowance (kinderopvangtoeslag).

Costs Breakdown

If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, check your supplementary insurance (aanvullende verzekering) before 31 December. The basispakket is the same for all insurers, and supplementary packages differ. Use the health insurance wizard to compare.

The Dutch Healthcare System in Context

You must have Dutch health insurance if you live or work in the Netherlands. Depending on your income, you may also qualify for zorgtoeslag. Check eligibility in the zorgtoeslag and huurtoeslag guide.

Maternity and Paternity Leave

• Pregnancy and maternity leave (zwangerschaps- en bevallingsverlof): at least 16 weeks of leave around the birth, with a benefit from UWV (UWV).
• Birth leave for partners (geboorteverlof): once the number of working hours per week, fully paid by the employer, to be taken within 4 weeks of the birth (Rijksoverheid).
• Additional birth leave: up to 5 times the weekly working hours, paid by UWV at a maximum of 70% of the daily wage, to be taken within 6 months of the birth, after the first week (Rijksoverheid).
• Parental leave (ouderschapsverlof): 26 weeks per parent in total, 17 unpaid and 9 paid, with the paid weeks to be taken within the first year after the birth (UWV).

See the maternity and paternity leave guide for eligibility conditions and what self-employed expats are entitled to.

Expat-Specific Considerations

Bringing your medical history. Bring your medical history to your first appointment: GP records, prior pregnancy records, vaccination history and any specialist letters, translated into English or Dutch if possible.

Mental health. If you experience low mood or anxiety during pregnancy or after the birth, raise it with your midwife or GP. The mental health support guide covers English-language support options.

Raising children. See the expat family guide to raising children in the Netherlands for schools, childcare and daily life.