MATERNITY CARE

Summary

  • Register at maternity care agency
  • Maternity care comes every day for a few hours, the first 8 days after delivery
  • Is reimbursed by insurance

A maternity nurse will help you during the maternity period for several hours a day. She helps in taking care of the baby, the feedings and ensures that you can recover from pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, she performs medical checks and is a source of information.
The maternity nurse also assists us during the delivery.

What maternity care does

The morning will always start with an evaluation of the night. How much has the baby slept, drunk and cried? How do you feel? Often after the night you already have a list of questions you want to ask about maternity care. She will answer all these questions.

Then she will carry out the checks, such as assessing the uterus height, blood loss, and heart rate, measuring your temperature and inspecting any sutures. The baby will also be checked, paying attention to the breathing, color, temperature, drinking behavior, amount of poo and pee and drying of the umbilical cord. She will record all these checks in the 'Growth Guide', which serves as a medical file for you and the baby during the maternity period.

She will spend the remaining hours on guiding (breast) feeding and taking care of the baby. Depending on your wishes and the number of hours that the maternity nurse is with you, she can also perform some household tasks.

The maternity nurse works under our responsibility. The maternity nurse will, therefore, call us if something goes wrong. You can also call us (day and night) on the emergency number (06-54788178) if you have questions or think that something is not going well.

Amount of hours

By default, every mother is entitled to 49 hours of maternity care. During the intake (around 36 weeks) the maternity agency will assess how many hours you are entitled to. This depends among other things on your health, how much help you have at home and whether you already have other children. The minimum is 3 hours of care per day, and a maximum of 10 hours per day.

Costs

Maternity care is included in the basic insurance. This means that every insurer reimburses maternity care. However, a standard contribution is charged, which you will have to pay yourself. If you have additional insurance, the chances are that the personal contribution will be reimbursed.

Which maternity nurse?

You can register with a maternity care agency or with an independent maternity nurse.
- A maternity care agency is an organization where several maternity nurses work. If you register with them, you will be accompanied by one or more maternity nurses from that organization during the maternity period.
- An independent maternity nurse is often an experienced maternity nurse who works alone and will be present with you for the entire week.

Register with a maternity care agency or maternity nurse if you are between 12-18 weeks pregnant. It is wise to always check if they have a contract with your health insurer when registering.

Find a maternity care worker in Amsterdam