My name is Sophie and together with my husband Mark we moved from the UK to Utrecht three years ago. When I got pregnant we were both nervous about giving birth in another country. But from the first meeting with our Dutch midwife something shifted. She didn’t talk about procedures or risks first, she asked us what we wished for.
We decided on a midwife-led birth at a local birth center in Amsterdam. The room looked nothing like the hospitals we knew. There was a big bed, soft light, a birth pool, and music playing quietly.
When my contractions started I felt scared but our midwife reminded me to breathe. She stayed close but never interfered. Mark sat behind me and whispered, “You’re doing it.” That’s all I needed.
The water helped me so much. It was warm, supportive, like an embrace. I could move, float, find my rhythm. When our daughter finally slipped into the water it was the calmest moment of my life. She didn’t cry, just looked around as if she already knew us. And we knew her.
We came for a job but found a birth culture that trusted us. And that trust changed everything.
Reactie van The Nest Community: Welcome, Sophie and Mark. Your story shows how universal birth truly is... A language of breath, trust and love. We love how you captured the Dutch spirit of “less procedures, more feeling and wishing.” Thank you for reminding us that softness crosses borders.
