Choosing Your Hospital
Belgium has excellent maternity services and you can choose to birth your baby in hospital, at home or in a birth centre. Take time to consider all your options.
In Brussels and the surrounding areas of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant, there are 17 hospitals where you can give birth. So how do you choose? What do you need to consider?
In Belgium you are free to choose your care provider / hospital. Your choices are not dependent on where you live.
Take time to explore your choices and keep an open mind
The link between care providers and hospitals ultimately dictates which hospital you choose. You can either choose your care provider first and birth in the hospital they are affiliated to or your hospital first and then choose a care provider that is affiliated to that hospital. So, how does that work?
Link between care provider and hospital
You have already chosen a care provider?
If your gynaecologist attends hospital births, then he/she will already be affiliated with a certain hospital (or in some cases, more than one hospital), and can only deliver babies in that hospital/those hospitals.
If your gynaecologist DOES NOT attend hospital births (this could be the case if you see a gynaecologist at a family planning centre), they may still be affiliated with a hospital, but you would be under the care of the on-duty gynaecologist for your birth
If your independent midwife attends hospital births (and can deliver your baby without the need for a gynaecologist), then she will be affiliated with a specific hospital which is where you would birth your baby
If your independent midwife DOES NOT attend hospital births and you want to give birth in a hospital, you can change care provider
WORTH KNOWING
In Belgium if, for whatever reason, you are no longer happy with your choice of hospital or care provider, you can change right until the moment you give birth – subject of course to agreement from your new care provider.
You haven’t chosen a care provider yet?
If you haven’t chosen a care provider yet, then you are free to choose any hospital, irrespective of where you live.
Perhaps you would like to choose a hospital that:
is close to where you live or work
has been recommended to you
offers the kind of birth experience you hope for, e.g. water birth
allows independent midwives to deliver babies
offers the specific medical care you need for you or your baby
allows continuous labour support from a doula
In this case, you might find a gynaecologist or independent midwife by asking your chosen hospital for a list of care providers who deliver there, and/or by asking for recommendations from people you know.
Public, private or university hospital - what’s the difference?
In Belgium, hospitals fall under the broad categories of ‘public’ and ‘private’, and some private hospitals are also university/teaching hospitals.
The standard of medical care is very high in Belgium, and the services, facilities and infrastructure are comparable whichever kind of hospital you choose. But the cost of care might not be the same.
Some hospitalisation insurance policies cover all costs related to giving birth, irrespective of where you give birth or what kind of room you choose, so price need not be a factor in your choice of hospital.
However, if you do not have such comprehensive coverage (e.g. if you will not benefit from reimbursement from the mutuelle), it might be worth keeping in mind that:
private hospitals are generally more expensive than public hospitals;
private hospitals that are also university hospitals are more expensive than non-university hospitals. For women who are covered by a ‘mutuelle’ / ‘ziekenfonds’, this difference is more than compensated by the fact that mutuelle/ziekenfonds reimburse a larger proportion of the costs related to the hospital stay and medical care in university hospitals than in non-university hospitals.
All hospitals should be able to provide you with a fee schedule, so that you can see how the costs are broken down – you will probably have to explicitly ask for this. Some mutuelles also provide hospitalisation cost simulators (this one is in French), which lets you compare hospital costs, and can give you a general idea of the difference between hospitals.
Remember that the choice of single or shared room on the maternity ward is one of the factors that has a hige influence on the overall cost of giving birth.
Impact of room type on final hospital bill
The biggest impact on your final hospital bill irrespective of the kind of hospital you choose is:
the kind of room you choose on the maternity ward
Most hospitals offer a choice between a single room and a ‘shared’ room, which usually only has 2 beds (sometimes 3).
Single rooms usually have their own bathroom and area to wash and change your baby. It is also usually possible for the partner to stay overnight. When you do a hospital tour, ask to see both kinds of rooms so you understand the difference.
If you choose a single room, not only do you pay a supplement for having a single room (this may be around €140 extra per day), but ALL the care that you receive during your time in hospital can be up to 200% to 300% more expensive.
Many hospitalisation insurance policies cover all birth-related costs, irrespective of the room type you choose, but it’s worth checking this with your insurer before making a decision.
Note: if you are given a single room even though you did not request one, you will not have to pay a single-room supplement.
Can I change my mind about my care provider or hospital?
One big advantage of the Belgian system is that, once you have chosen your care provider/hospital, you are not obliged to stick with that choice.
If, for whatever reason, you are no longer happy with your choice, you can change care provider right until the moment you give birth – subject of course to agreement from your new care provider.
Registering in advance at the hospital
Hospitals will typically require some kind of pre-admission, but the exact timing depends from one hospital to another.
For example, Delta hospital requires mothers to ‘reserve their room’ around the third month of pregnancy. For other hospitals, pre-admission can be done much closer to the birth.
Ask your hospital what their procedure is, and which documents you will need to complete and submit. It may also be worth checking with your hospitalisation insurance provider, as sometimes your insurer will first need to send confirmation of your insurance coverage to the hospital.
A hospital tour?
No matter which hospital you pick, taking a tour helps you understand their facilities and birth environment. Some show the labour and maternity wards, while others use slideshows and have Q&A sessions. You can ask questions during the tour. Most hospitals have tours in English, but joining a French or Dutch tour is a good idea if you cannot go to an English session, as staff generally speak some English. You often need to register because spots are limited. Check the hospital's website or call the main reception for tour details.
Which Belgian hospitals have the UNICEF label?
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), launched in 1991, is an effort by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure that all maternity hospitals become centres of breastfeeding support. In Belgium 31 hospitals have been awarded the BFHI certificate for a four year period after which they will be reaudited. The certificate guarantees, among other things, that these hospitals provide high-quality care, support and guidance for mother and baby from pregnancy to discharge from hospital.
A maternity hospital can be designated ‘baby-friendly’ when it does not accept free or low-cost breastmilk substitutes, feeding bottles or teats, and has implemented 10 specific steps to support successful breastfeeding.
Rest assured that just because a hospital does not have the BFHI label does not mean that they do not actively support breastfeeding – the label simply demonstrates their adherence to the UNICEF BFHI ‘contract’.
To read more about places for birth in Belgium click below: