Parenting in Holland

Traditionally the Dutch do not favour pain relief at all and believe that the majority of women do not need it and should not have it. They believe that there are other methods, such as breathing techniques learned on special yoga courses for pregnant women, which can be used to effectively combat the pain felt in childbirth. They further believe that a woman should not normally receive pain relief as it effects her ability to respond properly during the birth and as such increases the likelihood of intervention to assist in delivering the baby, eg forceps delivery. While this may be true, you may still want to have pain relief during the birth of your child.

Pain relief is only available if you are having a hospital birth as it cannot be administered by your midwife. If you request pain relief during your pregnancy you will usually either be told that that's not possible, or you can only get it if you really need it when the time comes. This kind of advice is usually quite alarming to a woman from a different cultural background, who has always expected to get pain relief during labour.

If you have considered the natural approach to childbirth and really find it is not for you then read on for advice on obtaining pain relief !

The Royal Dutch Organisation of Midwives mentions the following situations for a hospital birth:

1. Polyclinic birth with assistance of midwife, or
2. Clinical birth with assistance of gyneacologist.

The latter is only applicable if there are any complications, ie if there is a medical reason for a gyneacologist.

Getting Pain Relief

• Find a midwife who is willing to assist you with a hospital birth.
• Make sure you have someone to give you moral support and if possible have them go with you to your antenatal appointments, especially when you are discussing pain relief.
• You will need to choose a hospital which has an anesthetist on call 24 hours per day, as most hospitals can only offer pain relief during normal office hours ! The university hospitals are usually the best choice when looking for anesthetists who are on call 24/7.
• When asking for pain relief make sure that you have thought through your reasons for asking for it. You will be asked to explain this when asking for it, so be prepared to give a calm and reasonable answer.
• Remind whoever you are talking to that you have a different cultural background and being pushed into doing something just because you are in a different country is making you feel unhappy and stressed out. Stress is really not good for you or your baby so this ought to make them sit up and take you seriously.
• Don't give up you if you don't receive a positive response. Be persistent about what you want and keep repeating what you have said in the two points above. Get moral support from your partner and friends, they will help you to be strong and positive until you get what you want.
• Give yourself hope and inspiration by finding women who have achieved what you are trying to do already. I managed to do this and I found inspiration from a woman in my local Parent & Baby Group.

Hospital Trials for New Form of Pain Relief

In some hospitals (see below), a new form of pain relief is currently being tested. This pain relief is self-administered morphine by way of an epidural catheter. The administration is regulated by a computer and eliminates the risk of overdose. The effect of a single dose lasts only 9 minutes and is therefore safer for the baby because it minimises the risk of the baby becoming affected.

• The Bronovo in Den Haag
• The Rijnland in Leiderdorp
• The TweeSteden in Tilburg