The profession of maternity home care assistant and its significance for the Dutch midwifery profession.

Maternity home care assistants in the Netherlands assist the midwife (or GP) during the delivery, help and advise the new mother with the baby during the postnatal period at home. They are trained separately from nurses. Currently, more than three-quarters of mothers use this service. Birth statistics of deliveries attended by maternity home care assistants compare favourably with national statistics. The existence of this profession allows midwives to concentrate on midwifery tasks. It also enables pregnant women to consider giving birth at home or during a short-stay hospital delivery. These options are limited to certain groups in other industrialized countries.