Birth In Holland

In the Netherlands you have the choice where you give birth. This can be at home, a birth centre or hospital.

Home, hospital or birth centre?

Research shows that if you have a healthy pregnancy, birthing at home is a very safe option and you have a greater chance of having a natural birth without medical interventions. Homebirth is still a popular choice in the Netherlands with 13% of women choosing to be in the comfort of their own home. When birthing at home, many women like to use a pool as they have found submerging in warm water to give comfort during labour and birth.  Research has also shown that the use of water during the birth has many benefits. We have lots of water birth experience and our practice has several birth pools for hire. These come with all of the necessary equipment, including a pump, pool liner, and instructions. Please ask us if you are interested in renting a birthing pool or want to know more about the benefits of using a birthing pool during your birth.

There is also the option to have your baby in a birth centre. In Breda we have special birth centre rooms that are based in the hospital with some of the rooms having built in birthing pools. These rooms are meant to be a home away from home and of course, we do come with you.

You can also choose to give birth in the hospital on the obstetric ward without any medical indication. In this case we can still support you and we call this a ‘poliklinisch bevalling’.  Please check with your insurance as sometimes there can be a cost for a poliklinische bevalling when there is no medical indication.

We will have conversation about the pros and cons of the different options as they pertain to your specific birth. No matter where you choose to have your baby, we will support your choice and be with you from the moment your birth starts until several hours after the baby is born. However, if your birth requires obstetric led care, we will be required to hand over the care to the clinical staff in the hospital. Nevertheless, there is still the possibility that we can support you in a doula capacity. Please ask us about these options.