Having a Baby in The Netherlands

Bearing a child and giving birth is one of the many concerns you might have in mind when in a foreign country. Giving birth in the Netherlands is not at all tedious. You can choose to either give birth in a hospital or at home (depending on the situation of the pregnancy). Prenatal care is normally provided by a midwife of your choice, but that doesn't prohibit you from going to a gynaecologist. 

Note that giving birth naturally is somewhat the norm in most hospitals in the Netherlands. Therefore, an epidural is only given once deemed necessary by the attending doctor or the midwife. 

After giving birth, the mother can be discharged from the hospital and can go home within a few hours (again depending on the pregnancy). A house visit by a trained healthcare worker from the government should be expected a few days after the delivery (this additional service would last for 8 days/6 hours a day). 

The government is trying to stimulate childbearing in the Netherlands since the population is overwhelmingly dominated by the previous generations (old people aged 60 and above), so priority is given to families with young kids. The parents would normally get an allowance from the government for every child they have up until age 18. This allowance is called "kinderbijslag" and is given to parents whose child or children were born in the Netherlands (it's also applicable if you adopt a child). The amount of allowance you'll receive for your child is dependent on how old your child is.