Kraamzorg explained

What is kraamzorg?

Kraamzorg is professional maternity care at home in the first eight to ten days after the birth. A kraamverzorgende (maternity nurse) checks the baby every day: temperature, feeding, nappies, skin colour and the umbilical stump. She also checks the mother: bleeding, stitches, recovery. She teaches you how to bathe, feed and care for your baby, helps with breastfeeding or bottle feeding, does light housework and keeps visitors in check.

She works together with your verloskundige (midwife), who stays medically responsible during the first ten days. If anything looks off, the nurse calls the midwife. Kraamzorg is standard care in the Netherlands, not a luxury.

How to arrange it: register before week 16

You arrange kraamzorg yourself, directly with a kraamzorg agency. Do this early, ideally before week 16 of your pregnancy. Agencies fill up fast because of the staffing shortage; registering as soon as the pregnancy is confirmed is fine too.

• Choose an agency that has a contract with your Dutch health insurer. That prevents extra costs on top of the standard personal contribution. Your insurer has a list, and your midwife knows the local agencies.
• Around week 30 the agency does an intake (by phone or at home) and makes a first estimate of your hours.
• After the birth, you or your partner call the agency and the care starts.

How many hours do you get?

The hours are set by a national protocol, the Landelijk Indicatieprotocol Kraamzorg (LIP), used by all agencies and insurers:

• Minimum 24 hours, maximum 80 hours.
• The standard package is 49 hours if you breastfeed and 45 hours with bottle feeding, normally spread over the first 8 days. Since 2024, part of the hours may be used later, up to 6 weeks after the birth, in consultation with the agency and your midwife.
• The number of hours is reviewed at the intake, right after the birth and during the week itself. More hours are possible after, for example, a caesarean or a difficult start with breastfeeding. Ask for a re-assessment (herindicatie) if you are struggling; your midwife can back this up.

What does it cost? (2026)

• Kraamzorg is covered by the basic Dutch health insurance (basisverzekering), which is mandatory for residents. Every insured person is entitled to it.
• You pay a legal personal contribution (eigen bijdrage) of 5.70 euro per hour in 2026. For the standard 49 hours that is about 279 euro.
• Kraamzorg does not count towards your deductible (eigen risico).
• Many supplementary insurance packages (aanvullende verzekering) cover the personal contribution partly or fully; check your policy.

The staffing shortage: what if you get fewer hours?

The Netherlands has a shortage of maternity nurses. Some families get fewer hours than the standard package, especially in busy regions and around holidays. The hours that remain go to the medical checks and feeding support first; housework is dropped first. You are not on your own: the midwife stays responsible and visits during the first ten days.

If you get fewer hours than you need:

• Call the agency and ask about a waiting list, using hours later, or a transfer to an agency with capacity.
• Ask your midwife to request a re-assessment on medical grounds; that carries weight.
• Call your insurer (ask for "zorgbemiddeling", care mediation). Dutch insurers have a legal duty of care and can find you another contracted agency.
• Line up practical help from friends and family before the birth: cooking, laundry, groceries.

About this site

The rest of kraamzorgtips.nl is in Dutch. It covers the first weeks in detail: the day-by-day guide, recovery, feeding and checklists, all fact-checked against official Dutch sources. The free tracker app (feeds, nappies, temperature, weight) is simple enough to use even if your Dutch is limited. For emergencies: see the when to call page, which has an English summary. In short: call your midwife up to and including day 10, after that your GP (huisarts); in a life-threatening emergency call 112.