Frequently asked questions

We offer Centering Pregnancy care, because we believe in the power of connection. It takes a village to raise a child. In some cases, Centering Pregnancy may not be possible, such as if you join later and groups around your due date are already full. The regular care pathway provides all the necessary consultations. During this, we aim to offer a familiar face for the first 28 weeks. However, since you’ll receive less information than in the Centering Pregnancy program, we recommend supplementing this knowledge with informational sessions or courses on breastfeeding, childbirth, and parenting.

To make scheduling easier, all the dates for your group are already set. Centering Pregnancy falls under regular midwifery care, and you are officially entitled to time off from your employer. We’ve prepared a letter for you to share with your employer. You can ask for it during the intake or simply send an email to mail@amstermam.nl.

We work in small teams of 3 midwives: team West & team East. In addition to your regular group of pregnant women, you will see a familiar face of the supervising midwife (& co-supervisor) for 9 sessions.As the due date approaches, the group will become smaller and smaller; some pregnant women give birth earlier, some later. In this last period you will meet a second midwife and the frequency of the appointments will become weekly. For example, you will have seen at least two of the three midwives on your team around your delivery.

De Centering Pregnancy bijeenkomsten worden gegeven op het Westerdok 808 door team West en op de Asterweg 173 door team Noord/Oost.

Every pregnant woman receives a personal check-in with the midwife during the Centering Pregnancy session. During this check-in, your belly is measured, and you can listen to your baby's heartbeat. You also play an active role in your pregnancy care: you learn to measure your own blood pressure and track it along with your weight in your personal file.

During the Centering Pregnancy sessions, we create a safe space to share questions and thoughts with other mothers. There is also a one-on-one moment with the midwife for a physical check-up. We begin with the individual check-ins, during which you can catch up and chat with the group.After that, we explore various topics together, including pregnancy, nutrition, exercise, childbirth, postpartum recovery, and early parenthood. Many women face similar challenges, and discussing them as a group is incredibly valuable. Because—you’re not alone!

The group sessions last 2 hours. The last meetings, from session 10, last 1 hour. This way we can offer much more time and attention than during a regular consultation (15-20 minutes).

After the term ultrasound, the group meetings start. Each group meets at least 10 times: 9x during pregnancy (possibly 10-14 times, depending on when you give birth) and 1x after delivery

• Session 1 to 4: every four weeks
• Session 5 to 9: every two weeks
• Session 10 (and possibly up to 14): weekly
• A reunion day with your baby: once the last member of the group has given birth.

It’s possible that we are attending a birth and therefore cannot answer the phone right away. We will call you back as soon as possible. Is it extremely urgent or are you in distress? First try calling the on-call midwife from our other team. If you can’t reach them either, call 06 52 52 01 12. You will reach a midwife from Mijn Vroedvrouw. Please explain that you are a client of amsterMAM and are unable to reach us. She will notify us on our private phone, and we will call you back as soon as possible.

De basis verloskundige zorg hoef je niet zelf te betalen en gaat ook niet van je eigen risico af. Denk hierbij aan de intake, counseling rondom prenatale testen, de NIPT, 13 & 20 weken echo, verloskundige consulten / Centering Pregnancy traject en verloskundige begeleiding tot 6 weken na de bevalling. Echo’s op verzoek worden niet gedekt door de verzekering. Voor een bevalling thuis hoeft geen eigen bijdrage te worden betaald.In sommige gevallen van zorg is er een eigen bijdrage gewenst.Voor een bevalling in het ziekenhuis is een verwijzing van de verloskundige of van uw huisarts nodig. Er hoeft in dat geval geen eigen bijdrage te worden betaald. Dit geldt in de volgende situaties:

• a delivery that is necessary is supervised by a gynaecologist;
• a delivery with pain relief (such as an epidural, nitrous oxide sedation);
• if the responsible obstetrician (or general practitioner) has indicated that hge/she wishes to have the delivery take place in the hospital in order to avoid risks.
• als de bevalling in een ziekenhuis of geboortecentrum plaatsvindt zonder medische indicatie, moet een eigen bijdrage worden betaald. Hoeveel je betaalt, verschilt per ziekenhuis of geboortecentrum. In 2025 vergoedt de zorgverzekeraar € 261. Het verschil tussen het tarief van het ziekenhuis of geboortecentrum en de € 261 betaalt u zelf. Dit is de eigen bijdrage. Deze eigen bijdrage mag maximaal € 580,51 (2025) zijn.

Wij hebben met elke verzekering in Nederland een contract. Onder onze naam amstermam of onder Verloskundige Zorggroep Groot Amsterdam (VGZA) vind je ons in de zorgzoekers.

We call this walk-in consultation heartbeatconsultation . Every Tuesday at 3 PM you can come to listen to your baby's heartbeat at our location Westerdok 808. You do not need to make an appointment for this. Please note: we have about 5 minutes per pregnant person. If you need more time, please contact our assistant for an appointment.

Voor een gezonde ontwikkeling en groei van je baby, is borstvoeding de beste voeding die je kan geven de eerste 6 maanden. Gelukkig is flesvoeding tegenwoordig een heel goed alternatief voor als je geen borstvoeding kunt of wilt geven.Borstvoeding geven is natuurlijk, maar het gaat niet vanzelf. Jij en jouw baby moeten dit samen leren. Hoe vaak zien wij onze zussen of vriendinnen voeden? En hoeveel praten wij erover met elkaar? Op beiden vragen is het antwoord voor de meeste vrouwen: weinig. Daarom vinden wij het verstandig als je borstvoeding wilt geven, om je hierop goed voor te bereiden. Om te weten wat de natuur voor je in petto heeft. Kennis geeft rust, en rust vergroot de kans dat de borstvoeding goed op gang komt, dat je er plezier aan beleeft en dat het uiteindelijk ‘vanzelf’ gaat.Tijdens Centering Pregnancy hebben we het in sessie 3 uitgebreid over voeding, ook borstvoeding. En luister de podcast van Mom & co met lactatiekundige Myrte van Lonkhuijzen. Wil je aanvullende info, dan is het volgen van een borstvoedingsvoorlichting een aanrader. In Amsterdam zijn er verschillende voorlichtingen. Wil je hier meer over weten, kijk dan op https://amstermam.nl/samenwerkingen/lactatiekundige-borstvoedingscursus/ of lees meer over (borst)voeding in episode 5 of the 9-monthplan.

You can choose to have tests during your pregnancy to check whether there are indications that the baby in your womb has a chromosomal abnormality or a physical abnormality. This is called prenatal screening.There are two types of tests: 1. Testing for chromosomal abnormalities: the NIPT (non-invasive prenatal test). This is a blood test. 2. Testing for physical abnormalities: the 13-week scan and the 20-week scan.Would you like to know more about these tests? Then we will schedule a counselling appointment. During this conversation, we explore together what you need in order to make the choice that suits you best. You can also ask any questions you may have. Without a counselling appointment, the tests cannot be performed.The NIPT is available free of charge for everyone and detects the same conditions as the former combined test. However, the NIPT provides a much more reliable result. A normal test result has a reliability of 99.9%. An abnormal result is slightly less reliable. The NIPT result does not give absolute certainty. Still, the result is usually reassuring: with a non-abnormal result, the chance that there is still an abnormality is very small, so no further testing is needed. If you receive an abnormal result, you can choose to have follow-up testing. That will give you certainty. Would you like to know more about the reliability of the NIPT result? Visit https://www.pns.nl/en/.It is important that you are well informed about the possible outcomes if you decide to take this test. Whatever choice you make, you may be faced with difficult decisions about whether or not to terminate the pregnancy. Read more about this in episode 3 of the 9-monthplan.

The amstermam careplan has been carefully put together by us. In it, you’ll find all the information you need — from the first ultrasound to the postpartum period. Download the care plan Can’t find the answer to your question? Email us at mail@amstermam.nl — we’ll be happy to help.

Following a course is good preparation for your delivery. During such a course you will receive a lot of extra information that is not covered as standard in our care. You will learn relaxation exercises to cope with the contractions during your delivery. And it's important to be physically prepared for your delivery. After all, a fit body is better! We therefore urgently advise our clients to follow a pregnancy course.

If you are not married and do not have a registered partnership, your partner will have to acknowledge the baby in order to have a legal relationship with your child. We recommend that you arrange the recognition before 30 weeks. When your partner has acknowledged the baby, he/she can register the birth after delivery (within 3 days) and an application for sharing parental authority is automatically submitted after the declaration. You do not have to go to the city office within 72 hours after giving birth.If you are expecting your first child, go to the district office together to have the baby recognized by your partner. This must be done by appointment. Don't forget to bring your ID with you. Already at the recognition you need to choose which surname the baby will receive. Tip: you can arrange recognition in every municipality and city office by appointment; sometimes it is faster arranged outside the city.

After the intake there are 9 Centering Pregnancy meetings, each lasting 2 hours. After that, 1-4 one-hour meetings will take place.During each visit you measure your blood pressure, your abdomen is examined¹ by the midwife to assess the growth and position of the baby and we listen to the baby's heartbeat.In addition, information is discussed at each meeting about various topics that are important to you in the relevant phase of the pregnancy. The dates of the meetings are all fixed in advance. Read more about this here pregnancy care.If you follow the regular care process, the midwife will explain during the intake what this will look like and when you will see each other (about 7-10 times).

The first appointment (after the early ultrasound) is the intake and this is scheduled around 8 weeks. During the intake, your midwife will take an average of 45 minutes to inform you about many different topics, ask you questions and discuss our care with you. We discuss the questionnaire – including questions about your health, that of your partner and that of both families – that you completed in advance. If you decide to discuss the possible prenatal tests.You will also receive a form to have a standard blood test done. The midwife will meet your blood pressure, determine your BMI and examine your abdomen.

De eerste afspraak met de verloskundige is een intake. Hiervoor heb je al een vroege echo gehad.Neem hiervoor mee:

• legitimatie
• verzekeringsbewijs
• ingevulde vragenlijst
• als je bij deze afspraak ook een echo hebt en meer dan 10 weken zwanger bent: een volle blaas

Zodra je een positieve zwangerschapstest hebt kan jij je bij ons inschrijven. Zo zorg je ervoor dat je iemand hebt die je kan bellen als je ongerust bent of zorg nodig hebt. Daarnaast zorgt een tijdige aanmelding dat we de eerste afspraken rond 8 weken in kunnen plannen met je.