Fathers
Being pregnant and becoming a parent is not only a profound period of life for women. Becoming a parent is equally an exciting time for the father-to-be. At the practice, we find that (expectant) fathers also have questions when it comes to being pregnant, giving birth and the time after. Come along to the consultation and let us know how we can support you, too.
Father course
Because recent research has shown that expectant fathers also like to be well-informed when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth, David Borman, Obstetrician and father, has created his own special course for men only. Because we received many enthusiastic responses about this course, we brought part of the course and David to Haarlem. The course “Tackling for Expectant Fathers – Childbirth” is taught at The Haarlem House Doctors. David has also written some E-books on fathers and their role in supporting breastfeeding or “first aid for fast delivery”!
Are you going to be a father soon?
Let us support you with all your daddy questions about leave, approach or childbirth
Acknowledgment
If you are not married or in a registered partnership, it is necessary for the father to acknowledge the child. Acknowledging a child involves creating a legal bond between you and the child. This automatically gives you joint custody with the child’s mother. This also places you under a maintenance obligation until the child is 21 years old. Acknowledgments can be made during pregnancy, during the child’s birth declaration, or at a later time. During pregnancy, this is called acknowledgment of the unborn fetus. This can be done in any municipality in the Netherlands and if the mother of the child does not go with you, she must give her written consent. For more information on this, visit the Rijksoverheid website.
Partner leave
As a partner, you are entitled to short leave to attend the birth and report to the Civil Registry. In addition, you are entitled to five working days of maternity leave after giving birth. If your child is born at home, you must take maternity leave in the first four weeks after birth. If your child is born in the hospital, you take the leave in the four weeks after your baby comes home from the hospital.
A partner is required to let the employer know as soon as possible when maternity leave will be taken. This may be oral or written. Maternity leave costs no vacation days and salary is paid as usual. Some collective bargaining agreements or employer regulations have different arrangements for maternity leave. A partner is always entitled to the statutory minimum number of leave days; his employer may not refuse maternity leave.
Following maternity leave, your partner can take parental leave. Every parent with children under the age of eight is entitled to this.
Since July 1, 2020, your partner is also entitled to up to five weeks of additional birth leave. In other words, five times the number of working hours per week. You apply for this leave through your employer. During this leave, you will not receive a salary from your employer, but a benefit from the UWV. The benefit is a maximum of seventy percent of your daily wage (and never more than seventy percent of the maximum daily wage). Employers apply for benefits from the UWV, which pays workers. You must take the additional birth leave in the first six months after the birth. First you use up the five days of ordinary birth leave and then the additional leave can start. The purpose of this leave is so that partners can be more involved in caring for their baby and the on-goings of a new family.
In addition to additional birth leave, partners can also take partially paid parental leave since Aug. 2, 2022.
Tackling for expectant fathers
In the Netherlands, the father’s presence during childbirth is desired and the norm. What exactly his role is, however, is unclear to many men. David Borman, an obstetrician, researcher and trainer, developed the course Tackling for Expectant Fathers.
TIP
“On social media, inspiring fathers are also very active.”
If you are open to this also check out vdrs.nl and follow them on instagram!