Mother-Assisted C-Section in the Netherlands: Your Rights, Your Birth, Your Choice | Dr. Koen Deurloo

April is International Cesarean Awareness Month — and I can think of no better time to bring back one of our most-loved episodes.

In the Netherlands, the cultural weight around birth can make a cesarean feel like a deviation from the "right" path. But what if a C-section could still be a deeply empowering, connected, and beautiful birth experience? Dr. Koen Deurloo, OB-GYN at Diakonessenhuis Utrecht, is proof that it absolutely can.

Dr. Deurloo is the pioneer of the mother-assisted cesarean — a practice he developed in 2017 in which the birthing parent plays an active, physical role in their own surgical birth. Since then, he has performed around 400 mother-assisted births, published his book Door de ogen van een gynaecoloog, and is now training gynecologists across the Netherlands to bring this option to more hospitals.

In this episode, together with Dr. Deurloo we explore:

• What a mother-assisted cesarean actually looks like — and why it's just 4 extra minutes
• How the Dutch medical system approaches maternal agency in the operating theater
• Skin-to-skin contact, postpartum recovery, and bonding after a cesarean
• How to advocate for your birth preferences — even when the system pushes back
• Why cesarean births deserve to be honored, not minimized

Whether you're planning a C-section, want to be prepared for every birth path, or simply believe that mothers deserve to feel empowered in every delivery room — this episode is for you.

Find Dr. Deurloo:📱 Instagram: @kldloo💻 Expert at Ouders van Nu & How About Mom