HEALTH CARE
It’s all a huge adventure: going abroad, studying, working, meeting new people, having the time of your life… and then suddenly you are sick. You don’t speak the language fully or are from a different culture with very different ideas about medicine, and you may feel completely lost. Matters are only worse when you realise you’re having a baby in a foreign country, without the support of your family and the familiar system you grew up with. To understand the Dutch medical system, read this informative article.
For prenatal care, please see our page written by a professional doula.
For general information visit the Gemeente Delft website.
CONSULATIEBUREAU (WELL BABY CLINIC)
Centrum voor Jeugd en Gezin (CJG), frequently referred to as the Consultatiebureau, is a health clinic and will be responsible for providing routine health care and checking the development of your child from birth until she/he starts primary school at the age of 4, when school doctors take over.
Nowadays they are called JGZ in Dutch, which stands voor jeugdgezondheidszorg (youngsters health care). You can find some English information here. Their services are free of charge and available to all inhabitants of the region Zuid-Holland West.
If you have questions or would like to make an appointment, call them Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 5.00 pm: +31 88-054 99 99
There are six CJG offices throughout Delft.You will be assigned one close to where you live. In addition to appointments, each office has a specified time each week for walk-in questions (Inloopspreekuur). View the map here.
IMMUNISATIONS & VACCINATIONS
The Immunisation Programme is free of charge in the Netherlands. While participation is not compulsory, over 95% of parents consent to having their children vaccinated. The high vaccination rate means that these serious diseases have now become a rarity.
The Centrum voor Jeugd en Gezin (CJG), now know as JGZ (Jeugdgezondheitszorg), administers the nationwide vaccination program. You can read about it in English here.
The Dutch national programme of vaccinations includes 12 diseases. Here is a link to the vaccination schedule by the RIVM.
Depending upon your home country, the JGZ may recommend additional vaccinations. If there are vaccinations in your home country that are not part of the Dutch vaccination programme, it may be possible to get them through travel clinics. It is not common to receive an annual Influenza vaccine in the Netherlands nor one against chickenpox. You can get these too, but they are not advised by the doctors here.
If you are planning to travel far with young children, check out this link.
In Delft and Ypenburg, the SGZ Medical Centre includes a travel (reis) clinic. To make an appointment over the phone call 015-2121507 or visit their website.
- Reiskliniek SGZ Delft
(spreekuur: ma,di,wo+avond,do-mi,vrij-mi)
Gezondheidscentrum SGZ
Beukenlaan 4G
2612VC Delft
- Reiskliniek SGZ-de Reef Den Haag (Ypenburg)
(spreekuur: di-mo, wo-mi en vrij-mo)
Gezondheidscentrum de Reef
Kiekendiefstraat 15
2496RP Den Haag
NEWBORN HEALTH TESTS & SCREENINGS
Once your newborn is registered with the Gemeente, a JGZ nurse will contact you to arrange a home visit. The nurse will explain what the health clinic does, ask questions about the pregnancy and delivery, notify you of your first appointment time, and provide you a booklet used to track the child’s growth. The booklet is available in English and Dutch and contains useful advice on growth milestones. There is another booklet about the heel prick and the hearing test in English, available here.
After the birth, your baby will receive a hearing test and the heel prick test. In 2016, the test is done at your home during the first week after birth, or at the baby clinic, in which case it will be carried out during the second or third week after birth. You will be sent an invitation in this case. If the test is carried out at home your child will usually be given the heel prick test during the same visit. The health worker does not always make a prior appointment for the visit; often he or she will just drop in. The heel prick (hielprik) test determines if the baby has inherited rare genetic diseases.
SAFETY AT HOME
In this page you can find a guide and many useful links on first aid and safety for kids. As parents, we should always be prepared!