Amstelveen hospital wants to declare its delivery room Amsterdam territory

The Amstelland hospital in Amstelveen wants to declare one of its delivery rooms Amsterdam territory. The idea behind this is that Amsterdam moms sent to Amstelveen to give birth, can still register their child as born in Amsterdam, Ida Zwaan of the Woman & Child Center said on Tuesday, NU.nl reports.

According to Zwaan, increasingly many Amsterdam women are forced to give birth in Amstelveen because Amsterdam hospitals are too full. And many of them find it difficult to register their child as born in Amstelveen instead of their home city.

Hans van der Schoot, chairman of women's hospital OLVG, told Het Parool that the demand for delivery rooms in Amsterdam increased enormously. Last year his hospital had to refuse 1,262 pregnant women. He attributes this to the closure of the obstetrics department at MC Slotervaart in December 2015.

Amstelland hospital recently submitted a request to have one of its delivery rooms reclassified as Amsterdam territory to the municipality of Amsterdam, a spokesperson said to NU.nl. They are still waiting for approval.