Organisation of emergency transfer in maternity care in the Netherlands

because transfer of care from one care provider to another during labour or birth is not unusual in the Dutch maternity care system it is necessary for care providers involved in this transfer to know and trust each other, to be able to give an adequate reaction when needed. Recommendations given are to devise a protocol for midwives when calling an ambulance dispatch centre, to improve the knowledge about each other, for instance by providing combined courses for emergency obstetrics, preferably at the regional level, so people who actually may work together can train together, and to improve the referral process from midwife to obstetrician.