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Where should you give birth?
When you have been pregnant for about 34 weeks, you will be given
a brochure about the delivery and the confinement. Read this carefully
and ask questions if anything is not clear. During the pregnancy
or sometimes even during the delivery you can determine in what way
you would prefer to give birth. If the pregnancy is without complications,
home is a good and safe place to give birth. If there are complications
during the home delivery we
will refer you to a gynaecologist. Another possibility is to give
birth in a polyclinic,
a birthing room in a hospital as it were, where we will give you
hands-on assistance during the delivery. If there are complications
we will refer you to a gynaecologist. Check to see if your health
insurance covers a delivery in a policlinic.
A home delivery.
If you think the birth has started, call us on our mobile
phone, number
 06 547 881 78
We will then make a house call to see how far dilation of the cervix has
progressed; often it will be the first stage of dilation. We will then tell
you when we will return. When you have reached the last stage of dilation we
will give you continuous hands-on assistance during delivery. We will call
the maternity assistant who will assist us during labour and delivery.
 What
you need for a home delivery:
- A plastic under sheet to protect your mattress. If you
intend to have a vertical delivery, you will need a second
sheet to protect your floor.
- Blocks to raise your bed to a height of about 65 cm. You
can get these on loan from 'Thuiszorg Amsterdam'. As an alternative
for blocks you can use crates.
- A bedpan, on loan from 'Thuiszorg Amsterdam'
- 2 buckets, with a bin liner in them.
- Extra bin liners.
- An extra (standard) lamp
- A mirror
- 2 (metal) hot-water bottles to warm up cotton nappies
and baby clothes
- A digital thermometer
- A layette; with washed cotton nappies, a romper, jumper,
pants, socks and a bonnet.
A maternity package with:
- 10 incontinence mats (about 50 x 50 cm)
- An umbilical cord clamp
- A small bottle of alcohol 70%
- A box of gauze dressings 16/16
- 10 gauze dressings 10 x 10 cm
- A packet of maternity sanitary towels
- A packet of sanitary towels
Depending on which health insurance company you have, you
will receive a maternity package in which you will find a large
part of the necessities for the delivery.
The room in which
you plan to have the baby should be well heated. It's a good
idea to have everything you need ready in case the delivery
has to be transferred to the hospital
(delivery in a polyclinic).
It is important that your house is easy to find (you could give us a route description),
with a clear street number and nameplate, and that there is easy access and good
lighting in the stairwell .
After 37 weeks of pregnancy, delivery can take place at home;
make sure that everything is in order from this date onwards.
Delivery in a polyclinic.
The first part of a delivery in a policlinic is the same
as a home delivery. We make a house call to determine how far
the dilation has progressed. When you have reached halfway
dilation you will be welcome at the hospital. We will then
call the delivery room so that the nurse can make things ready
for you. After the last stage of dilation we will stay with
you in the hospital to give you continuous hands-on assistance.
What you will need for delivery in a polyclinic:
Insurance papers, hospital ID card (if you have one), toiletries and clothes
for your self. Clothes for the baby, among which a romper, jumper, pants, socks,
a bonnet, jacket or blanket, a baby seat/carrier to transport the baby in, a
camera, something to read and/or music for relaxation. We recommend that you
have a maternity package
(see home delivery)
in the house even if you plan to have your baby in a polyclinic.
For a home delivery or delivery in an outpatients’ department (a birthing room in a hospital) we are not allowed to use palliative treatment. However, we can offer the possibility to make use of the birth TENS.
The birth TENS is a small battery-run device about the size of a walkman. This device influences labour pains so that the intensity of the pain decreases.
When you are in labour, your body sends signals to your brain. This device blocks these signals via light electrical impulses across the skin.
The device is connected by wires to sticky pad electrodes, which are placed on the skin on either side of your vertebrae during childbirth. The TENS is thought to work by selectively stimulating certain ‘non-pain’ nerve fibres to send signals to the brain that block other nerve signals carrying pain messages, in this case, the signal from the pelvis and womb area to the brain thereby making the contractions less painfull. You can set the tingling feeling around the pads at an acceptable level yourself.
For more information please consult the website of TENS www.geboortetens.nl
As a practice we own a birth TENS. If you would like to make use of it, you can rent it from us during the delivery for € 20,00, including the electrodes.
If you require palliative treatment during delivery we shall refer you to an obstetrician.
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