First of all, congratulations on this special news!
On this page, you will find the most important information about the start of your pregnancy. Here you can read what arrangements you should make and what you should do. If you have any questions, you can always call us! If you register with our practice, we will plan your first appointment right away.
Or you can register online.
Folic acid
Take a tablet with 0.4 to 0.5 milligrams folic acid every day. Folic acid reduces the risk of your baby developing a split spine or a split skull. These tablets are available without a prescription, at the pharmacy or drugstore.
Start taking folic acid before you get pregnant. It will take about 4 weeks until there is enough extra folic acid in your body. So it is important that you have already been taking folic acid for 4 weeks once you get pregnant. Keep taking folic acid until you are 10 weeks pregnant. After 10 weeks of pregnancy, additional folic acid is no longer necessary for the baby. However, it will stimulate the absorption of iron from your food. So you can finish your tablets.
Folic acid is also available in multivitamin form, do make sure that the multivitamin you take has to be suitable for pregnant women. You can keep taking this for the whole duration of your pregnancy (and possibly your breastfeeding period).
Did you start too late?
Sometimes you cannot start taking folic acid in time. For example, because you got pregnant unexpectedly, or more quickly than you were expecting. Or you did not know that folic acid is important. You do not have to worry in this case. The chance that your baby will have a split spine or a split skull is very small. Even if you do not take additional folic acid. Do start taking folic acid as soon as possible, because every little bit helps.
Acknowledgement
If you are not married, the baby will automatically get the mother’s last name. The baby can also get the partner’s last name, but in order for this to happen, your partner has to acknowledge the baby during your pregnancy.
You can also choose to arrange the acknowledgement of your baby, but still give the baby the mother’s last name. This process does not cost money; however, requesting the supporting documents at your local council does cost money. The local council would like you to come and arrange the acknowledgement in the 20th week of your pregnancy.
Are you married/registered partners? Then you can choose the last name of the baby, and the father will automatically be registered as the father of the baby. For more information, look here: acknowledgement, local council Vlaardingen.
Custody
If you are not married, the mother will automatically get custody of the child. If you are married/registered partners, the custody is arranged automatically. If you want to share custody, you have to submit a request with the registry of the cantonal court. You do not need a lawyer. The request can be accepted any time after the birth of the child, as long as it is under-age. You have to make a separate request for every child that you want to share custody of as unmarried parents. The procedure itself does not cost money. However, requesting the supporting documents at the local council does cost money.
Vaginal bleeding
If you start bleeding during the start of your pregnancy, it makes sense to feel worried. Bleeding during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy occurs in 1 out of 5 cases. That is rather often. More than half the women stop bleeding after a few days. The most common reasons are implantation bleedings or a burst blood vessel in/around the cervix. A little bit of brown discharge when you wipe is usually not a reason to worry. If you start losing more blood, and a way that can be compared to your menstrual cycle, and you also keep losing clots, it may be a miscarriage.
Postnatal care
It is important to sign up for postnatal care before the 16th week of your pregnancy. During a home birth and your maternity time, it is very important to receive good care from a maternity assistant. Aside from us, she will be your contact person in case you have any questions about taking care of your baby, if you need help with breastfeeding, and for any other question you might have during your maternity time. The maternity assistant will also be our eyes and ears, and will consult with us if necessary.
The costs for postnatal care are covered by your healthcare insurance. If you have basic insurance, you do have to make a personal contribution. You can check your policy for the costs. You can choose your own maternity bureau.
The maternity bureaus that we usually work together with are:
Kraamzorg De Bakermand
www.bakermand.nl
Naviva kraamzorg
www.naviva.nl
De Eilanden
www.kraameiland.nl
Het Kraamzorghotel
www.kraamzorgrotterdam.nl
www.geboortehotel.com
Healthy food
A healthy and diverse diet is good for everyone. Now more than ever, because you are also taking care of your baby! The dietary centre can give you reliable advice about food, and what you need on a daily basis. For example, you do not need to eat for two.
There are a few things that you should avoid
- Raw meat or products made with raw meat, such as steak, tartare, steak tartare, roast beef, and carpaccio.
- Raw and smoked fish.
- Soft cheese made of raw milk (you can recognize these cheeses by the sticker that says “au lait cru”).
- Make sure to wash raw vegetables properly.
- Alcohol. More information about alcohol and pregnancy, as well as a free online training about this subject are available on www.alcoholvrijzwanger.nl.
- Cigarettes: Stop smoking!
- Vitamin A: liver, liver sausage or liver pate.
No more than 1 slice of bread per day. - Caffeine: no more than 1 cup of coffee per day.
Weight gain during pregnancy: on average, women gain twelve to fourteen kilograms during their pregnancy. This is normal, because the baby, placenta, amniotic fluid and extra fluid in your body all weigh extra. Our advice is to refrain from (consciously) losing weight, because this can cause the release of waste substances. If you have any questions about weight gain or your BMI, feel free to ask us. If you want, we can refer you to a dietician.
De Luiermand
Verloskundigenpraktijk Vlaardingen
Hoflaan 43i
3134 AC Vlaardingen
Contact
Phone number: +31 10 234 13 55
Childbirth and emergency phone number:
+31 6 46 27 2220
Email: info@deluiermand.nl
