Today at 07:30 • Updated today at 09:00
It is a major problem in maternity care: staff shortages. As a result, women sometimes receive less or no care at all and ‘birth stops’ are increasingly common in hospitals. That is why they work differently at maternity care La Vie in Aarle-Rixtel. “I am very committed to the profession, because I think it is important that it continues to exist,” says owner Rose Anne Verbakel-Urlings (32).
Maternity care is affected by an aging population, but this is not visible at La Vie. “All our girls are still very young. The youngest is 19 years old and the oldest is 42 years old,” says Rose Anne. “Our way of working also attracts young people.”
La Vie offers regular maternity care, but also extras. “We work with packages. Families can choose a package from us that they pay extra for and that allows us to do extra things. We take photos, we take care of the entire household, we do fun activities with brothers and sisters. That makes us special.”
A tough profession
That way the knife cuts both ways. Families can choose the perks they want and La Vie can pay employees more. According to Rose Anne, this is necessary, because it is a tough profession. “We never know when we will work. A lot is expected of you and in general it is very hard work for little money.”
That is why Rose Anne is happy that she can offer and train her employees more, but that does not solve the problem in maternity care. “It is not a national solution, but it is so that we can continue to exist and enjoy doing our work.”
How should things be done nationally? “I think there is a lot of room for improvement. The compensation can be increased. The government can help train new people, but a lot also needs to be done within the companies themselves to make it more attractive to come and work.”
No more training fund
What Rose Ann is also disappointed about is the training fund that has been stopped. “Insurers had made a training fund available last year. Unfortunately, it has been closed. I was told today that it will not be reopened either,” she explains. “The costs of training are very expensive and without training you cannot work in maternity care.”
Despite the hard work and pressure in the profession, Rose Ann would love nothing more than to be a maternity nurse. “There is nothing more beautiful than this. You are there when a child is born. You can take care of them. In the beginning, parents can still be very unsure, but at the end of the maternity week they enter parenthood with confidence.”
House of Representatives is debating staff shortages
Research by the Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate (IGJ) shows that the staff shortage in maternity care has a major impact on pregnant women and healthcare providers. The inspectorate investigated nine obstetric partnerships in 2023 and 2024.
According to the inspectorate, the entire chain is under pressure. For example, birth stops are becoming more common in hospitals. There are also waiting lists for maternity care and sometimes women receive less or no care at all.
That is why the House of Representatives debated on Thursday about staff shortages and solutions for the places where this is most problematic.
