Having a Baby in the Netherlands as an Expat: the whole system, in one calm guide
A midwife instead of an obstetrician. A maternity nurse in your living room. Three days to register your baby, a residence permit to request, an embassy to visit, and leave rules from an agency called UWV. If you are expecting in the Netherlands and grew up somewhere else, the system is excellent and completely unfamiliar. Having a Baby in the Netherlands as an Expat puts it all in one place, in English, in the order you will need it, with every figure and deadline checked on the official Dutch page on 13 October 2026.
What is inside
About 13,000 words across 15 chapters, written for parents who are new to the Netherlands:
- How the Dutch system fits together. Who does what, from insurer to IND, in one table, and the four things that surprise newcomers most.
- Health insurance when you are new. The legal obligation, what the basic package covers for pregnancy, the deductible exceptions, own contributions, international plans and maternity waiting periods, and the four-month deadline for your baby.
- Your midwife and your pregnancy care. Finding a verloskundige, what she does, when you see a gynaecologist, and the scans and screening tests with how each one is paid.
- Where to give birth, and what it costs. Home, birth centre or hospital compared, pain relief, the polyclinic own contribution explained step by step, what Dutch research says about home birth, and when to call your midwife.
- Kraamzorg. Hours, cost, booking from week 12, the intake and what the kraamweek looks like.
- Work and money. Pregnancy and birth leave with worked date examples, UWV pay, illness around the birth, the ZEZ benefit for the self-employed, your rights at work, paid parental leave and child benefit.
- For the partner. Birth leave, additional birth leave, acknowledgement and a practical list.
- After the birth. The 3-day registration rule, documents, legal parents, acknowledgement and joint authority since 2023, and surname choices.
- Your baby's residence permit, nationality and passport. The IND procedure, why birth in the Netherlands does not make a baby Dutch, and generic embassy steps.
- The first months. Heel prick, hearing test, consultatiebureau, vaccines and child benefit.
- Looking after yourself. Your recovery, your mood, where to get help and the numbers to keep.
- A week-by-week checklist from the positive test to your baby's first birthday.
- A glossary of more than 40 Dutch words you will hear.
- Pages to fill in. Contacts, key dates, a birth budget and your questions.
- Sources. 42 official pages and two Dutch studies, each opened and checked, with their addresses.
Who it is for
- You are expecting in the Netherlands and want to understand the midwife-led system before your first appointment.
- You are not married to your partner and want acknowledgement, authority and the surname settled before the birth.
- Your baby will not be Dutch, EU, EEA or Swiss, and you want the IND and embassy steps in order.
- You are self-employed, or your partner is, and want the ZEZ and leave rules explained clearly.
- You are the partner, and want to know your leave and your jobs in the first week.
What it is, and what it is not
This guide gathers official information from Government.nl, Rijksoverheid, Zorginstituut Nederland, UWV, the IND, the SVB, the national screening programme and the Royal Dutch Organisation of Midwives, organised and explained, with checklists and pages to fill in. It is not legal, tax, immigration or medical advice, and it does not decide your entitlement: your insurer, UWV, your municipality, the SVB and the IND do. Where an official page did not state a figure clearly, the guide says so and tells you whom to ask. Everything on our free Netherlands pages stays free; this guide is for families who want it all in one printable place.
Instant PDF
Your guide arrives as a PDF as soon as your payment goes through. Read it on your phone, or print the checklists, the budget and the contact pages.