Expecting parents face high fines if they cancel maternity care before birth

Expectant parents who cancel maternity care before giving birth often face a hefty penalty, NOS reports based on its own research. Penalties of up to 275 euros apply even if they cancel early in the pregnancy.

Due to the shortage of maternity care providers, many parents register with multiple organizations in the hope of finding room somewhere. NOS looked at the conditions of 50 of the around 200 maternity care providers in the country and found that the vast majority of them charge penalty fees in some way. Many automatically bound parents to a contract and fine them for canceling.

The broadcaster spoke to a young woman who became pregnant while studying. “Midwives and those around me insisted that I quickly register for maternity care because of the crowds. So I registered with four different organizations after 13 weeks of pregnancy, hoping that there was still room somewhere,” she said.

Two weeks later, she received an email from Naviva informing her that her registration with the maternity care organization had been finalized. “It turned out that I had concluded a contract, it was not an online registration without obligation. I had to pay 150 euros in cancellation costs, even though there had not even been an introduction.”

She had already found maternity care elsewhere, so she quickly called the other two maternity care organizations where she had registered. “Fortunately, after much pleading, they turned out to have more sympathy than Naviva. They reduced the amount to 15 euros and 37 euros.”

Adrienne Salcau had a similar experience with Naviva. She registered with several maternity care organizations, specifically requesting an English-speaking maternity caregiver. “Some called me saying that they didn’t have space,” Salcau told the broadcaster. “Other agencies, such as Naviva, did not make any contact at all.”

She found a maternity care organization with an English-speaking care provider and contacted the other organizations to cancel. She was 16 weeks pregnant at the time. Naviva charged her 150 euros in cancellation costs. “Somewhere at the bottom of a Dutch email, which I could not read, it said that cancellation costs were involved. While I had written when I registered that I only spoke English. They did nothing for me after my registration, but they charged the costs.”

Arjan Groen and his wife had a similar experience at De Kraamvoel, where they had to pay 75 euros to cancel. “It's quite strange that an agreement takes effect automatically, without explicit consent,” Groen told NOS. “When we refused, they said they would call a collection agency. We thought that was harsh.” Groen eventually offered to pay half, and De Kraamvogel agreed.

“It is clear that they are taking advantage of the situation and want to cash in on people who are not paying attention to the small print,” Groen said.

Naviva told NOS that they charge cancellation fees “to discourage double registrations with us and other maternity care organizations.” The company said it reserves capacity for families who register and others end up on a waiting list. “It cannot be the intention for this to happen because others have registered in multiple places,” a spokesperson said. They added that Naviva has an “extensive leniency arrangement.” De Kraamvogel did not respond to the broadcaster’s questions.

Trade organization Bo Geboortezorg attributes the cancellation costs to the staff shortages in maternity care. “More and more parents register with multiple agencies,” director Peter Boudewijn told the broadcaster. “If they then cancel their maternity care, the organization can no longer declare the costs incurred to the insurance.” He did call the cancellation amounts “significant,” also in relation to the work that has been done so far. “They are intended to deter parents,” he said. “But we absolutely don’t like it if it comes as a surprise. That must be clearly communicated.”