Are you pregnant?

Contact ZEM to request maternity care. In the Netherlands, you are entitled to receive up to 10 days of maternity care after you give birth. A maternity carer assists during the delivery, takes care of you and your baby during the first few days and gives advice. You pay a personal contribution for maternity care.

In the Netherlands, pregnancy and childbirth are supervised by a midwife. Midwives are medical professionals. You do not need a referral to make an appointment with a midwife. You can find a midwife near you using the Care Finder (in Dutch).

At home or in a hospital

In the Netherlands, you will generally give birth at home if you have been pregnant for 37weeks or longer, both you and the baby are healthy and there is no increased risk of complications. A charge applies for giving birth in a hospital without medical necessity, in which case you pay a personal contribution. If there is an increased risk to your or your baby’s health during the pregnancy or birth that is classified as a medical necessity, the delivery of the baby in the hospital will be fully reimbursed from the ZEM Polis basic healthcare insurance policy.

Including your child on your insurance policy

In the Netherlands, children are not automatically covered under their parents’ healthcare insurance. It is therefore important that you arrange healthcare insurance for your child within four months of birth. Any medical costs incurred for your child after delivery are not covered by the mother’s healthcare insurance policy, so always contact ZEM after your child is born.

Fertility

If you want to start a family and are unable to conceive naturally, you can get a referral to a fertility clinic through your GP. In the Netherlands, statutory regulations apply to both in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). To find out whether you are eligible for reimbursement or to learn which clinics are licensed to perform these treatments, contact the ZEM Mediation Team at zorgadvies@zorgenzekerheid.nl.