Having a baby in the Netherlands as an expat
A midwife instead of a doctor, a maternity nurse in your living room, three days to register your baby. Here is how the Dutch system works when you come from somewhere else, checked on official Dutch pages.
Updated October 13, 2026 · sources checked October 13, 2026
In short
In the Netherlands you book a community midwife (verloskundige) yourself, usually for a first visit between weeks 7 and 10. Birth care and kraamzorg are in the basic health insurance everyone who lives or works there must have. Employees get at least 16 weeks of paid leave. Register the birth at the municipality within 3 days; non-EU babies then need an IND permit.
The Dutch system in one table
Most of what surprises expats in the Netherlands comes from one idea: a healthy pregnancy is treated as a normal life event, looked after in the community, close to home. Here is who does what.
| What | Who handles it | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Health insurance (zorgverzekering) | A private insurer, offering the same government-defined basic package | Take out basic insurance: it is a legal obligation for everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands |
| Pregnancy care | A community midwife (verloskundige); a gynaecologist if there is a medical reason | Contact a midwife practice yourself as soon as you know you are pregnant |
| Care at home after the birth | A kraamzorg organisation (maternity care agency) | Register early in pregnancy; many agencies accept you from week 12 |
| Paid leave | UWV, usually through your employer | Tell your employer and ask your midwife for a pregnancy statement |
| Birth registration | The municipality (gemeente) where the baby is born | Register within 3 days |
| Baby's residence | IND, for babies who do not have Dutch, EU, EEA or Swiss nationality | Apply for a residence permit after the birth |
| Child benefit | SVB | Wait for the SVB letter after registration, then apply online |
| Baby's health checks and vaccines | The consultatiebureau (youth health care, JGZ), free | They invite you when your baby is 1 month old |
Sources: Government.nl, Zorginstituut Nederland, UWV, IND, SVB and Rijksoverheid, as of October 2026.
1. Health insurance first
Government.nl states that everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands is legally obliged to take out standard health insurance. Insurers must accept anyone for the basic package and charge everyone the same premium for it, whatever their age or health. Additional insurance is optional, and insurers can refuse you or ask health questions for it.
What this means when you are pregnant:
- Midwife care is in the basic package. So are the termijnecho (dating scan between 10 and 14 weeks), the prenatal screening tests and follow-up tests, and kraamzorg, within the limits described below.
- No deductible for birth care. Zorginstituut Nederland says midwife care, prenatal screening and kraamzorg do not fall under the mandatory deductible (eigen risico). Medicines, transport and blood tests not directly linked to the pregnancy do.
- Your baby needs its own policy. Children under 18 pay no premium for the basic package, but parents must register the child with an insurer within four months of the birth; the cover then starts from the date of birth.
If you are on an international or expat health plan rather than Dutch basic insurance, read the maternity section of the policy now. Some private international plans apply a waiting period before maternity costs are covered, or cap them. If you are not sure whether Dutch law obliges you to have Dutch insurance, government.nl points to the zorgverzekeringslijn for people coming from abroad.
2. Your midwife, not your doctor
You do not need a referral. You contact a midwife practice in your area yourself; Zorginstituut Nederland says the first appointment is usually between the seventh and tenth week. The midwife checks your health and the baby's growth, assesses risk, explains prenatal screening, helps you plan where to give birth and refers you to a gynaecologist, GP or paediatrician when needed. For high blood pressure, complications in a previous pregnancy or a baby growing differently than expected, care moves to the hospital; when the medical reason is gone, you go back to the midwife.
The full explanation, with the screening calendar, is in how Dutch midwife care works.
3. Where you give birth
With a healthy pregnancy you choose between three places, all with your own midwife and a maternity nurse:
- At home. Fully covered by basic insurance, outside the deductible. No medical pain relief at home.
- In a birth centre (geboortecentrum). A homely room near or inside a hospital; some offer nitrous oxide.
- Poliklinisch in a hospital. A hospital delivery room with your own midwife, without a medical reason. You usually go home two to four hours after the birth.
If there is a medical reason, or you want an epidural, your midwife refers you to the hospital and care is led by the gynaecologist's team. A birth with a medical indication has no own contribution.
For a hospital or birth centre birth without a medical indication, Zorginstituut Nederland lists an own contribution of €22.50 for the mother and €22.50 per baby per day; the insurer reimburses up to €161.50 for the mother and €161.50 per baby, and you pay any amount the hospital charges above €278 for one baby. The contribution disappears if a medical indication arises during the birth, or if you use nitrous oxide (lachgas) as pain relief during a polyclinic birth.
4. Kraamzorg: book it early
Kraamzorg is the Dutch maternity care at home: a trained kraamverzorgende helps during the birth and then looks after you and your baby in the first days. Zorginstituut Nederland says you are entitled to at least 24 and at most 80 hours, usually up to day 8 after the birth (sometimes day 10), and that many agencies accept you from week 12. At home, the own contribution in 2026 is €5.70 per hour; in hospital there is none. Everything is in our kraamzorg guide.
5. Leave and money
| Who | What the law gives | Paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Pregnant employee | At least 16 weeks of pregnancy and birth leave, starting 6 to 4 weeks before the day after the due date | UWV benefit at 100% of daily wage, up to the maximum daily wage, usually paid through the employer |
| Self-employed mother | ZEZ benefit for at least 16 weeks | UWV, up to the national minimum wage |
| Partner (employee) | 1 working week of birth leave within 4 weeks of the birth | Employer, 100% of salary |
| Partner (employee) | Up to 5 weeks of additional birth leave within 6 months | UWV, 70% of daily wage, up to 70% of the maximum |
| Each employed parent | 26 times weekly working hours of parental leave until age 8; 9 weeks paid in the first year | UWV, 70% of daily wage for the 9 paid weeks |
Sources: UWV, Government.nl and Rijksoverheid, as of October 2026. The details, deadlines and what to ask your employer: pregnancy and maternity leave in the Netherlands.
Your employer may not dismiss you because you are pregnant, during your leave, or in the first 6 weeks after it, Rijksoverheid explains. You may attend prenatal appointments during working hours with pay, and during your baby's first 9 months you may breastfeed or pump during working time.
After the birth, child benefit (kinderbijslag) is paid per quarter by SVB. For a child aged 0 to 5, SVB lists €298.40 per quarter for the third and fourth quarters of 2026. Entitlement starts from the quarter after the birth (or the same quarter if the baby is born on its first day), and is paid after the quarter ends.
6. Your baby's papers
- Register the birth at the gemeente where the baby was born, within 3 days. Bring your passport or ID and the mother's. The baby is entered in the BRP and receives a BSN (citizen service number).
- Unmarried? If you are not married or in a registered partnership, the partner becomes a legal parent by acknowledging (erkennen) the child at the municipality, ideally before the birth. Since 1 January 2023, acknowledgement also gives joint parental authority automatically.
- Health insurance for the baby within four months.
- IND residence permit if your baby does not have Dutch, EU, EEA or Swiss nationality. The IND lists a fee of €85 and a decision period of 90 days.
- Your embassy or consulate: register the birth and request your baby's passport according to your country's rules.
Step-by-step, with the documents: registering a birth, the BSN and the IND permit.
7. Nationality: what birth in the Netherlands does not do
The IND explains that a child automatically becomes Dutch through a Dutch parent, and that it makes no difference whether the child is born in the Netherlands or abroad. A baby born in Amsterdam to two non-Dutch parents therefore does not become Dutch by being born there. One exception concerns families settled in the Kingdom for generations: a child is Dutch by birth if the child and a parent had their principal residence in the Kingdom at the birth, and one of that parent's own parents also lived in the Kingdom when that parent was born.
8. After you come home
- Heel prick and hearing test. A screener, usually from the consultatiebureau, visits you at home in the first week. Both tests are free and voluntary. Registering the birth on time is what triggers the visit.
- Consultatiebureau. Free youth health care; they invite you when your baby is 1 month old, and vaccinations under the national programme are given there.
- Your own recovery. Your midwife and kraamverzorgende check on you in the first days. Low mood that does not lift, anxiety or intrusive thoughts deserve a call to your GP; read our page on postpartum depression.
9. A short timeline
10. Words you will hear
| Dutch | Meaning |
|---|---|
| verloskundige | Midwife, your main care provider in a healthy pregnancy |
| kraamzorg, kraamverzorgende | Postnatal care at home; the maternity nurse |
| kraamweek | The first week at home with kraamzorg |
| poliklinische bevalling | Hospital birth with your own midwife, without a medical reason |
| zwangerschapsverlof, bevallingsverlof | Pregnancy leave before the birth, birth leave after it |
| geboorteverlof | Partner's birth leave |
| erkenning | Acknowledgement of a child by an unmarried partner |
| gemeente | Municipality, where you register the birth |
| BSN | Citizen service number |
| consultatiebureau | Free baby clinic for check-ups and vaccines |
| hielprik | Heel prick screening in the first week |
All the Netherlands guides
Expecting somewhere else? See our guides for the UAE, Singapore, Germany, Spain and Switzerland, or all our expat guides.
Questions parents ask
Do I need a gynaecologist to have a baby in the Netherlands?
Not if your pregnancy is healthy. Zorginstituut Nederland explains that care is usually given by a community midwife, who refers you to a gynaecologist if there is a medical reason. If the reason disappears, you go back to the midwife.
Is giving birth free in the Netherlands?
Midwife care and a home birth are covered by the basic insurance and do not count towards your deductible. A hospital or birth centre birth without a medical reason has an own contribution, and kraamzorg at home costs €5.70 per hour in 2026, according to Zorginstituut Nederland.
How long do I have to register my baby's birth?
Three days. The day of birth does not count, and if the deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday you can register on the next working day. Registration is free; copies of the birth certificate cost a fee.
Does a baby born in the Netherlands get Dutch nationality?
Not because of the place of birth. The IND explains that Dutch nationality is passed on through a Dutch parent; place of birth makes no difference. A baby of two non-Dutch parents usually needs a residence permit unless it has an EU, EEA or Swiss nationality.
Sources
- Government.nl — Standard health insurance checked October 13, 2026
- Zorginstituut Nederland — Verloskundige zorg (Zvw) checked October 13, 2026
- Zorginstituut Nederland — Kraamzorg (Zvw) checked October 13, 2026
- UWV — Maternity pay if you have an employment contract checked October 13, 2026
- Government.nl — Rules for registering a birth checked October 13, 2026
- IND — Residence permit for child born in the Netherlands checked October 13, 2026
- IND — Dutch citizen by birth, acknowledgment or adoption checked October 13, 2026
- Rijksoverheid — Ik krijg een kind (checklist and explainer) checked October 13, 2026
- SVB — Child benefit amounts checked October 13, 2026
- De Verloskundige (KNOV) — Spontaan gebroken vliezen checked October 13, 2026
- De Verloskundige (KNOV) — Bewegingen van je baby in je buik checked October 13, 2026
- 113 Zelfmoordpreventie — English checked October 13, 2026
- Government.nl — Emergency number 112 checked October 13, 2026
Mamavela explains; it does not replace your midwife, doctor or pediatrician, who know your situation. If something worries you, call them. In an emergency, call 911 (US), 999 (UK) or 112.