Ouderschap

Reading paths

Start anywhere, keep going

Each path is a sequence. Open the first part and every article carries you to the next one.

All parenting writing

Ouderschap

Humanitarian birth: how the Dutch system takes care of mothers

The Dutch maternity system is built on a simple idea: birth is healthy until proven otherwise. Independent midwives lead low-risk care, home birth is a normal choice, and after the baby arrives a kraamzorg maternity nurse comes to your home for days — cooking, teaching, watching, reassuring. It is not perfect, and the home birth rate has fallen, but as a model of humane, mother-centred care it remains one of the best examples in the world.

8 min leestijd · Sept 2026

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The uncomfortable conversations about birth

Enemas before birth, caesareans without a medical reason, medication to stop milk, early formula and supply, and why night breastfeeding really is harder. What each practice is, why people choose it, and where the criticism deserves to be questioned.

14 min read · aug. 2026

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Partum and postpartum friends: the merino pants that carried me through

One pair of oversized merino men's sweatpants from John Merino in Amsterdam, worn from early pregnancy through a year of motherhood, worn into holes, and then repaired with a patch made from barely-worn baby trousers. A small story about circular clothing, repair, and what motherhood actually does to a body and a mind.

6 min leestijd · aug. 2026

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Meet Yanko: haemorrhoids, birth, and what actually helps

Haemorrhoids after pregnancy and birth are common, temporary and rarely discussed. What they are, why pushing invites them, and the remedies worth keeping in the drawer — eucalyptus cream and the Dutch classic, Curanol.

9 min leestijd · aug. 2026

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Breast milk is a living medicine

Breast milk changes by the hour, by the day, and by whether the baby is ill. Night milk is not day milk. Milk fed to a sick baby is not the milk from a week before. Here is what is actually happening, and why pumping cannot reproduce it.

9 min leestijd · aug. 2026

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Een kindermatras kiezen

Schuim, latex, veren en certificaten — een heldere blik op het bewijs over waar je kind tien uur per nacht op slaapt.

8 min leestijd · jul 2026

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Wat is lotusgeboorte? Een zacht begin voorbij de navelstreng

Wat is lotusgeboorte? Lotusgeboorte—ook wel het niet-doorsnijden van de navelstreng genoemd —is het gebruik om de navelstreng na de bevalling niet door te snijden, waardoor de baby verbonden blijft met de placenta totdat de navelstreng op natuurlijke wijze…

7 min leestijd · mei 2025

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Krachtige mama leest: Van geboorte tot baby & daarna

🌸 Top Books for a Beautiful Birth & Empowered Postpartum Journey Whether you're preparing for your first birth or looking to enrich your knowledge for a more empowered experience, diving into the right resources can…

2 min read · apr 2025

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Inleiding ontrafeld: wat de bevalling echt op gang brengt

The most natural way for labor to start is when a woman’s body decides the time has come. A surge of hormones sets contractions in motion, pain is eased by the body’s own chemistry, and birth begins in its own rhythm.…

4 min read · apr 2025

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Van godinnen tot richtlijnen: Een geschiedenis van bevallen

Childbirth is universal, but it hasn’t always looked the same. Across centuries, continents, and cultures, birth has evolved—shaped by beliefs, tools, traditions, and power. Here’s a brief walk through the history of…

4 min read · apr 2025

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Een vadergids voor peuters voor Julian

A German-Engineer-Dad Compatible Guide to the Chaos of Tiny Humans Who Just Discovered They Have Opinions. Part IV of the Manual for Julian.

2 min read · Feb 2025

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Een vadergids voor baby's voor Julian

The first night, the foggy days, milk, cramps, nappies, the witching hour and the first tooth — the newborn half of the manual, on its own.

7 min leestijd · Feb 2025

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Een vadergids voor de bevalling voor Julian

A German-Engineer-Dad-Friendly Field Guide to birth itself: contractions, the placenta, the water, the hospital, and the case for staying home.

8 min leestijd · Feb 2025

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Een vadergids voor de zwangerschap voor Julian

The edition that was promised: the nine months before the birth, written for a father who wants to know what is actually happening and what he can usefully do about it.

9 min leestijd · Feb 2025

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🌼 Sharing Pee for a Purpose: A Look into Moeders voor Moeders

💡 The Magic of Shared Resources As a start, I’d like to say—I’m a huge fan of the sharing economy in many cases. Sharing resources helps us consume less and build stronger communities , since trust and care are at the…

4 min read · Nov 2024

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Pregnancy, Pickles & Power

How to Thrive (Not Just Survive) Pregnancy isn’t just about growing a tiny human — it’s about discovering your instincts, your power, and maybe even your sass. Yes, there will be nausea, aches, and mood swings. But it’s…

3 min read · Nov 2024

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Finding Balance After Birth: Quiet Changes in Postpartum Life

👶 So What Happens After the Baby Comes? One big change: I connected deeply to my other mom friends. There is so much uniting in the experience. And no matter my attempts to keep connected to the non-mom friends too,…

3 min read · Oct 2024

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Potty Training

Potty Training: A Process, Not a Sprint Potty training is one of those developmental milestones that comes wrapped in expectation, trial, and the occasional puddle on the floor. Contrary to the modern Dutch trend of…

3 min read · Sept 2024

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Foot-Shaped Logic: Why Barefoot Shoes Just Make Sense

Why Barefoot Shoes Are the Best Thing for Kids' Feet Picture this: a toddler sprinting across the grass, toes splaying, feet flexing, every step a perfect little dance of freedom. That’s what barefoot shoes were made…

3 min read · Sept 2024

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Flashback: Babies Are Made Best on Vacation

Why Time Abroad Sets the Scene for Creation A spermatozoid, an egg, and a frog walk into a resort… There’s a saying that surfaces with a wink and a cocktail in hand: “Babies are made best on vacation.” And if life is…

2 min read · Aug 2024