“1 in 3 Dutch women give birth at home”
“When the obstetrician at the French hospital tells me that my water bag is starting to crack, I say to him: “I am going home”. He looks at me surprised and worried. I then return home quietly, I prepare my things and I take a shower. I smile when I think of all those Dutch moms who would have cycled to the hospital, and my gynecologist in the Netherlands who kept telling me during my previous pregnancy “listen up, and everything will be fine”!
In the Netherlands, the woman does everything until the last moment, pregnancy is not seen as an illness. The management in the hospital is really different: no vaginal examination or weight control.
One in three Dutch women decide to give birth at home. This is the highest rate in Western countries: 30% against 2% in France. When the contractions are already very close, a midwife is called. Each woman receives a “kit” with everything needed for the baby’s arrival at home: sterile compresses, a tarpaulin, etc. It should be remembered that the Netherlands is a relatively small and very populous country. We are all about 15 minutes from a health center in case there is a problem. The epidural is non-existent, you have to be in agony to get it! On the other hand, there are a lot of yoga, relaxation and swimming classes. When we give birth in the hospital, four hours after the birth, the Dutch midwife tells us: “You can go home!” The following days, the Kraamzorg comes to the house about six hours a day for a week. She is a midwife’s assistant: she helps set up breastfeeding, she is there for the first baths. She also does the cooking and cleaning. And if, after the week, you still need help, you can call her back for advice. On the family side, the grandparents do not come, they remain discreet. In the Netherlands, it’s everyone’s home. To visit the newborn, you have to call and make an appointment, you never come by unexpectedly. At this time, the young mother prepares little cookies called muisjes, on which we spread butter and sweet pearls, pink if it’s a girl and blue for a boy.
“When we give birth in the hospital, four hours after the birth, the Dutch midwife tells us: ‘You can go home!’ “
We are not afraid of the cold, the temperature of the whole family’s room is 16 ° C maximum. Infants are taken out as soon as they are born, even in a freezing winter. Children always wear one layer less than adults because they move more. In France, it makes me laugh, children always seem entangled in their multi-layered clothes! We are not so connected to drugs in the Netherlands. If the child has a fever, antibiotics are the last resort.
“We breastfeed in great majority and everywhere! There is a room reserved for women in each workplace so that they can express their milk quietly, without noise. “
Very quickly, the little one eats like the parents. Compote is not a dessert, but an accompaniment to all dishes. We mix it with pasta, rice … With everything, if the child likes it! The most popular drink is cold milk. At school, children do not have a canteen system. Around 11 am, they eat sandwiches, often the famous butter sandwiches and Hagelsgag (chocolate granules). Kids are crazy about it, just like licorice candy. I was amazed to see that they are reserved for adults in France. I am very happy that my children eat hot dishes in the French canteen, even organic. What amazes me in France is the homework! With us, they do not exist until the age of 11. The Dutch are temperate and tolerant, they give children a lot of freedom. However, I don’t find them cuddly enough. France seems to me more “sanguine” on many points! We shout more, we get annoyed more, but we kiss more too!
Daily…
We give baby’s first baths in a Tummy tub! It’s like a small bucket in which you pour water at 37 ° C. We put the baby there, which is covered up to the shoulders. He is then curled up as in his mother’s womb. And there, the effect is magical and instantaneous, baby smiles in heaven!