In my experience, having a baby in this country is a great experience, but you need to be prepared to be pro-active, determined, and open to a different system. In the Netherlands, in general it is midwives rather than doctors who deal with childbirth. Once you find out you are pregnant (and I'm afraid you'll have to pay for your own stick to pee on: buy a 'clear blue' or 'predictor' set in the Apotheek: no freebies at the doctor here!) you decide what sort of birth you want, choose your own midwife practice and make a registration appointment with them. If you tell your GP that you are pregnant he won't be very interested (I skipped in, all keen and starry-eyed, only to be told that it wasn't his business and here was a list of the midwives..). Almost all healthcare professionals speak fairly good English, so don't panic. The first thing to do is to choose a midwife practice and ring them up to make an appointment. As far as I know, they are all nice:
