The Birth street

The last part of De Genestetstraat, between Bosboom Toussaintstraat and Jacob van Lennepkade, is popularly known in Amsterdam as ‘Birth Street’. This isn’t surprising, because nearly all the buildings have something to do with pregnancy and babies. It’s a green part of the city. Wisteria climbs the walls and tall trees line the middle of the street. Over each glistening shop window hangs a signboard with the Birth Centre logo: a tree of life.

Buggies and baby-slings come and go. Nobody’s in a hurry – there’s plenty to do in the street. On weekdays the café on the corner gets busy early, with parents relaxing after a class or a visit to the Birth Shop or the obstetric practice. In the middle of the city, the leafy Birth Street has an informal, village atmosphere.

The Birth Centre provides parents-to-be and new parents with a safe and pleasant place in the city. Women and men meet in the midwife’s waiting room, come across each other again in their antenatal class, or have a coffee together on the café terrace. There’s a friendly atmosphere of health and relaxation, perfect for meeting people and talking about pregnancy, parenthood and children.

History

The Amsterdam Birth Centre was founded in 1992 by midwife Beatrijs Smulders together with her colleagues Bea van der Put and Mary-Elliz Sheridan, supported by the Hensel family. Since its foundation the centre has become well-known nationally, chiefly owing to its innovative and progressive ideas on pregnancy, birth and motherhood. Each year the Birth Centre attracts many visitors – also from other countries – who want to learn about the unique Dutch approach to obstetrics and the new developments in the field.

Our Vision

• A number of key principles are central to all the Birth Centre’s activities and departments: We believe that pregnancy and birth are essentially healthy and normal processes in life.

• We foster health around fertility, pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period

• We foster women’s confidence in their own bodies.

• We aim to prevent unnecessary and therefore harmful medical intervention.

• We arrange our services to assist women as much as possible in a home environment.

• We place safety first.