Moving to a new country is a big thing. Having a baby is a big thing too. Doing both at once can feel like a lot. If you have landed in Brussels and you are expecting, this post is for you.
I want to make the practical side feel a little smaller. Not with medical advice. That belongs to your midwife and your doctor. Just with a few plain things that can help you feel more at home here.
Where babies are usually born here
In Belgium, almost all babies are born in hospital. In 2022, 97.8% of births took place in a hospital, according to Statbel, the national statistics office. Home births and birth-centre births exist, but they are much rarer.
So for most families here, birth means a hospital and a medical team. If that setting is new to you, it is worth knowing early.
Brussels has many maternity hospitals
You have real choices in this city. Several hospitals have their own maternity ward.
To name just two, CHU Saint-Pierre in the centre has a maternity ward, and Hôpital Erasme in Anderlecht has an obstetrics clinic. There are more across the city, in French and in Dutch-speaking hospitals both.
Which one is right for you is a personal choice. Your midwife or your doctor can help you weigh it up. I am glad to help you gather the questions you want to ask them.
The stay after birth may feel different from what you knew back home. The length, the routines, the visiting hours can all vary. Rather than trust a number you read online, ask your chosen hospital or your midwife what to expect. They can tell you what is true for your case.
The paperwork can wait, but not forever
Belgium runs on health insurance funds. In French they are called a mutuelle or mutualité. In Dutch, a mutualiteit or ziekenfonds.
Joining one is not optional. As the Brussels Commissioner explains, “Anyone living in Belgium (and that includes expats) must take out this insurance as soon as they move or start to work here.”
Your fund is what reimburses a large part of your care. So it is worth sorting early, before the baby comes.
I am not the person to quote you figures. Costs and reimbursements change, and they depend on your own situation. Your mutuelle can tell you exactly what your birth will cost you, and what comes back. Ask them directly. It is what they are there for.
Your commune, your local town hall, is the other place you will deal with. They handle registering the birth. Your midwife or the hospital can tell you the steps for your case.
If the language feels like a wall
Maybe your hospital works in French or in Dutch, and you are still learning. That can make an already big day feel bigger.
Here is something good to know. Belgian hospitals can bring in interpreters and intercultural mediators. For example, UZ Brussel says it “works with a broad network of interpreters”, and that “intercultural mediators offer support to healthcare providers and patients when obstacles arise due to language and cultural barriers.” You can ask about this when you book, or at admission.
Every hospital handles it differently. So ask yours early what language support they offer. It is a fair thing to ask for.
Where I fit in
I am your doula. That means I offer non-medical support only. I do not carry out clinical checks. I do not give medical advice. I do not make decisions for you. Those things belong to your midwife and your doctor.
What I offer sits right beside them. I can:
- talk through your questions and your worries in the weeks before
- help you gather what you want to ask your midwife or your doctor
- be a steady, familiar face with you during labour
- help you feel informed, so the choices feel like yours
And there is the language. We can talk in English, French or Slovak, whichever feels most like home. When you feel understood, a lot of things get softer.
You do not have to carry it alone
Being far from your own family is hard. The city, the language, the forms, all at once. It makes sense if it feels like a lot.
You do not have to have it worked out before we talk. Not knowing where to start is a fine place to start. Part of my work is helping you find your own questions, at your own pace, without nudging you towards mine.
Your partner is welcome too, whenever you would like them there.
Let us talk
If any of this would help to talk through, I offer a free discovery call. No cost, no obligation, and nothing you have to decide afterwards. We can simply see how it feels to talk.
Book a free discovery call whenever you are ready. Wherever you have come from, you are welcome here.