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Maternity Period

+1 week

What to expect?

The first week after the birth is a very special but also intensive time. It is important to prepare yourself for this. During this first week you are recovering from the birth, and because a newborn needs feeding every 3 hours, you probably haven’t had much sleep.

Don’t have too many visitors at once; give yourself the opportunity to recover both physically and emotionally. Due to the lack of sleep, the intense emotions after giving birth and the physical complaints, many women experience an ‘off’ day around day 4. You can be more emotional then, we call this "maternity tears". This is normal. Do not hesitate to call off your visits if you don't feel up to them. It's your week and the importance of your family comes first!

Fortunately, you should feel much like yourself again after 1 or 2 weeks and will be able to take care of the baby. The maternity period plus physical recovery will take much longer, see the section on post natal body.

It can be useful to freeze a few meals during the last weeks of pregnancy or ask friends or family to bring you some. This way you have one less thing to worry about during the day but still have a nutritious meal

Postnatal complaints

Haemorrhoids, blood loss and perspiring. Just a few issues that can occur during your maternity period. For a handy and complete overview please go to website deverloskundige.nl

Maternity Nurse

The maternity nurse will teach you and your partner how to care for your baby and help with breastfeeding (if required). A maternity nurse will visit you for approx. 8 days following the birth. Over this period hours are reduced gradually depending on your individual needs.

What does a maternity nurse do?

  • Teach you and your partner how to care for your baby and the baby’s behaviour patterns
  • Check on your recovery daily
  • Check the baby daily for colour, temperature, fluid intake, urinating and bowel movements
  • If the maternity nurse believes the baby is unwell for any reason, she will tell the midwife.
  • She will perform basic household tasks, laundry for you and the baby, changing bed sheets, keeping the baby’s room clean and tidy plus keeping toilet and washing facilities clean. She will look after any others children you have also.
  • She will assist with breastfeeding

If you are unhappy with your maternity care for any reason, please let your maternity care agency know as soon as possible. Maybe you just don’t ‘click’ with your nurse or you disagree on certain matters. If the two of you cannot agree, the maternity agency can send you another nurse. It is important that you can look back on you maternity week with happiness and feel that you have been cared for very well.  If there are any issues, please do not wait until the last moment, it will be difficult to find a solution at that point.  

The midwife during the maternity week

Next to care from the maternity nurse, we are responsible for the post natal checks, and will visit you a few times during the first week to discuss the birth with you, resolve any breastfeeding issues and answer any other questions you may have.

Initially the maternity nurse will try to answer your questions and check if everything is going as expected. She will notify us of any concerns so that we can take action. If there are any problems or questions outside of these visits in the first week, please contact us.

If you have given birth at the hospital, the hospital will let us know when you go home. We will contact or visit you the next day.

Child Health Clinic, heel prick and hearing test

At the end of the maternity week we will transfer your medical care over to your family doctor/Health Centre. The midwife will also arrange the transfer with the Child Health Clinic. Any questions regarding the development of your baby will be dealt with here.

You do not need to do anything, once the child is born and you have registered the birth with the council, the Child Health Clinic will contact you.

During the first week here the district nurse will visit you to carry out the baby’s heel prick and hearing test.

The heel prick test means that the nurse will collect a small amount of blood from the heel of your baby. In a lab this blood will be examined for markers of several rare health conditions. Early detection and treatment of these conditions can reduce or prevent severe damage to your child’s physical and mental development. Most of these conditions are incurable but can be treated with e.g. medication or a special diet.

The baby’s hearing will also be tested. For more information, please see leaflet links below.

Approximately two weeks after the birth, the district nurse will contact you to arrange an intake appointment to take place at your home. She will weigh the baby and explain how the child health clinic will provide further care. If you would like the district nurse to provide this information while you are still pregnant, please let us know.

What if you don't have maternity care?

What if I don’t have maternity care

Arranging maternity care
It’s best to arrange your maternity care as soon as possible around the time of your intake appointment, which usually takes place around the 11th week of pregnancy—but it can definitely be done earlier. You’re free to choose which organization you’d like to register with—just go with what feels right for you.

We often work with Koru. You can also opt for a private/self-employed maternity nurse (ZZP), which means you’ll know in advance who will be with you during your postpartum week. Keep in mind that self-employed nurses tend to get fully booked quickly, so it’s wise to arrange this early on. You can arrange this through www.kraamzorg1op1.nl.

Other organizations you can register with are for example: Kraamvogel, KraamZus, Kraamkring, Dunya, Mama and Pro Care.


Staff shortage
Unfortunately, there is currently a significant shortage of maternity nurses. As a result, more and more clients are finding it difficult to get one. That’s why it’s really important to sign up on time.

Help, I don’t have maternity care
If you’ve tried various organizations during your pregnancy and haven’t been able to arrange care, you can sign up for a waiting list. Our assistant can provide more information on how to do this.

After the birth, we will call the organization managing the waiting list, and they will then begin to actively search for maternity care for you. This means they will contact all maternity care providers in the Utrecht area to see if anyone is available.

Usually, you’ll get 3 to 4 hours of care per day. Sometimes someone is available the same day, but in some cases, it may take a few days to find someone. Unfortunately, it’s also possible that no one will be found at all.

What to do without a maternity nurse

  • Read and print our document on the postpartum week. Keep track of your fluid balance (a record of feedings, your baby’s pees/poops, and temperature).
  • Attend the workshop babyverzorging (only in Dutch) during your pregnancy, given at the Boothstraat.
  • Rent (or buy) a baby scale and weigh your baby at the same time every day (without clothes or with a clean diaper). You can rent one from Vegro Thuiszorg or Borstvoeding en Meer.
  • Ask friends, family, or neighbors to help with groceries and dinner.
  • Put out a call on social media for a maternity nurse—other clients have succeeded in finding a maternity nurse this way.​

Don’t worry, we’re here for you
Once you’re home, we’ll visit you the next day to check in and see how you’re doing. We’ll review the fluid balance log you’ve kept. As a new mom, make sure to take your temperature twice a day in the early days. If it’s over 37.5°C (measured rectally), always contact us.

During our visit, we’ll do a medical check-up—such as checking your uterus and the healing of any stitches. We’ll answer your questions and give advice to help you move forward.

However, please note that as midwives, we can’t do two jobs at once. We’re available 24/7 for urgent questions, but we can’t help with things like bathing your baby. If you don’t have a maternity nurse, prepare by watching the videos we shared. And when bathing the baby for the first time, make sure someone is there to assist you—like your mother, mother-in-law, sister, friend, or an experienced neighbor.

And then you get a maternity nurse after all
It’s always a relief when we can tell you that a maternity nurse has been found. What will she do when she comes? She’ll usually help for 3 to 4 hours per day and has several responsibilities:

  • Provides postpartum medical care, including check-ups for both you and the baby, and maintains hygiene.
  • Identifies if you or your baby need additional medical attention and contacts the midwife if needed.
  • Supports your family in adjusting to your new situation, preventing problems, and ensuring your baby is cared for safely and healthily. She also helps you bond with your baby.
  • Teaches you and your partner how to care for and feed your baby.
  • Provides information and answers questions—for example, about birth registration or insurance.
  • Watches out for anything in your home or behavior that might pose a risk to your baby.

No maternity nurse and wanting a home birth
For a safe home birth, we have certain requirements, which you can also read under the home birth section. One of these is that we need assistance during the delivery. Normally, we call your maternity care provider for support.

If you don’t have one, we will still try to find a maternity nurse for the delivery. There is a pool of maternity nurses who assist with births at WKZ and Antonius Hospital, and we can ask them to help at a home birth—provided they are not assisting elsewhere at that time.

If we can’t find a maternity nurse, we’ll ask within our own team if someone is available to assist. This is not always possible, especially during holiday periods or weekends.

If no one is available, and there’s time to move, we’ll ask you to go to a hospital with one of the midwives from Breedstraat. You can choose which hospital to go to, depending on availability.

Tip: If you have no maternity nurse but still want a home birth, ask self-employed maternity nurses if they can be on stand-by just for your delivery. They may have time for this!


Good to know
If your home is in a paid or permit-only parking area, keep in mind that parking fees for the maternity nurse are your responsibility. You can apply for a parking discount from the municipality—be sure to check this in advance!

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