Maternity hotels open in Groningen and Hoorn amid shortage of postnatal caregivers
A growing shortage of postnatal caregivers has prompted Dutch care organizations to open new maternity hotels where mothers stay with their newborns under professional supervision instead of receiving postnatal care at home. This week, a maternity hotel opened in Groningen, and another is set to begin operations next week in Hoorn, NOS reports.
A maternity hotel typically consists of a cluster of rooms within a regular hotel, hospital or birth center. New mothers can stay there for several days with their partners and babies. Throughout the day, and often during the night, professional caregivers are on-site to support the families. Similar facilities already operate in Rotterdam, Den Haag and Tilburg.
This summer in Groningen, about 100 pregnant women were at risk of being left without any postnatal care due to a severe shortage of staff. According to Lindy van Breda Vriesman, board member of Postnatal Care Het Groene Kruis, the acute shortage has multiple causes.
“In the summer, a relatively large number of babies are born, exactly when postnatal caregivers want to go on holiday with their own families,” Van Breda Vriesman told NOS. “And as of January 1, due to new legislation, we had to part ways with thirty self-employed caregivers who formed a flexible buffer around our organization.”
To keep services running, Het Groene Kruis has recently brought retired postnatal aides back into service and asked current employees to work extra hours. A maternity hotel allows caregivers to help multiple families more quickly than visiting each household separately. Van Breda Vriesman noted that employees also prefer working in the maternity hotel setting.
“The work is scheduled, so they know exactly what to expect for the next two months,” she told NOS. “It’s physically less demanding, you work as a team, and that means you can give more attention to mother and child.”
While the practical advantages are clear, organizers were unsure whether parents would embrace the idea. “That was a bit tense,” Van Breda Vriesman said. “We opened on July 1, and there was one family. Then you think: Will this be a success? Who wants this? But on July 2 we were already full. Some clients specifically ask if they can stay in the maternity hotel.”
One of the main reported benefits is that families receive guaranteed postnatal care, often with more hours of support than at home. When help is needed, parents can simply send a text message, and a caregiver arrives quickly in the hotel room. Relatives and friends are welcome to visit just as they would at home.
The maternity hotel does not cost families anything extra compared to regular home-based postnatal care. For many, the comfort and peace of mind are additional advantages.
Still, staying outside one’s own home takes getting used to. Tineke Mennens, who is staying in the new Groningen facility with her newborn son Milan, told NOS, “That you’re not in your own environment, yes, it’s all just a little different than at home.”
Postnatal caregiver Alida, who works in the Groningen location, believes maternity hotels could be the future of Dutch postnatal care. “This way, we can support parents well, and for the caregivers, it brings peace,” she told NOS.
