Preperation for childbirth

Every birth is different and every woman experiences it in her own way. You can not tell anyone how you feel when your child is born. What happens to you during a delivery and how you can prepare for it as well as possible.

Make sure you are well prepared

Make sure you know what is going to happen and what you can do yourself. That way, you have more control and are thus more confident that you can handle the delivery. Moreover, you can relax more when the time comes.

Look for information

Read leaflets, magazines and books about giving birth. Look for reliable information on the Internet about preparing and pain relief. Ask us all your questions. You can also take a pregnancy course to start practising breathing techniques. You will receive our 2-hour online seminar about childbirth, after which we will make a birth plan together with you and your partner.

Arrange to have someone with you to support you

Good support can help you cope better with the pain. Therefore, it is very important to think carefully about who you want to have at your delivery. Discuss this in advance with your midwife. Only your partner, or (also) your sister, a friend, your mother: everything is possible. Whatever you are most comfortable with.

Choose someone for whom you do not have to keep up appearances. Someone with whom you feel at ease. And tell this person who will support you what you want in advance. Then, when the time comes, you can focus all your attention on handling the contractions. Your midwife will of course also support you during labour.

Think of where you want to give birth

Do you want to give birth at home or in the hospital? Or maybe somewhere else? Discuss this with us. We can list all the pros and cons with you and look together with you and your partner to see what suits you best. You do not have to record anything permanently. So if you want to give birth somewhere else once the contractions have started, you can always decide otherwise. Read more

Make sure you are well rested

Try to go into labour well-rested. Get a lot of rest in the last weeks of your pregnancy and take ample time for yourself. If you’re rested, you can handle pain better.

Indicate your wishes in advance

Do you already know where you want to deliver? Or how to do to deal with the pain when the time comes? Then write down your personal preferences, for example, in a Birth plan.

Maternity care

Please register before you are 16 weeks pregnant at a maternity care agency. If you like it at home, the maternity nurse comes during your delivery, just before you have contractions. She supports us and clears everything after giving birth. Sometimes the maternity nurse comes a little earlier, to support you and your partner when the contractions have started. Even after birth, she is in your house several hours a day to accompany you in the care.

Text from the Brochure 'How to deal with pain'