Starting March 2026, two centering parenthood groups will start in the municipality of Utrecht: in both Vleuten and Zuilen, new parents can join together in the first phase after their childrens birth. As with regular individual contact moments, the Youth Health Care (JGZ) also performs its statutory task here. Additionally, there is ample space for parents to exchange experiences and find more mutual support, recognition, and understanding among each other. In this way, they learn not only from the youth nurse but also from other parents. This provides more insight and confidence in parenting. Centering parenthood can be particularly supportive for parents with a small social network or for parents who are new to the city or country.
When parents have children, visits to the consultation office start. Until now, this was done individually. Based on the good results with centering pregnancy – where midwives guide expectant parents in groups – the municipality now also introduces centering parenthood. This means that new parents are guided in groups by a youth nurse and an assistant from the consultation office. At the beginning of the meeting, the youth nurse conducts a physical examination of all children individually and the assistant helps parents with measuring and weighing the children. Then the group part starts, and various topics are discussed. Questions and ideas for discussion topics mainly come from the parents themselves. A group meeting lasts two hours. There is also a joint app group where parents can exchange experiences and ask each other questions.
More confidence in parenting
Centering parenthood is a relatively new method; it has existed in the Netherlands for about ten years. In municipalities where centering parenthood has been offered longer, on average 40% of parents choose this method. Research by TNO has shown that centering parenthood is a well-founded method. The mutual contact brings many benefits, especially for people who do not have a broad network to fall back on. Participation is a personal choice; the individual line remains available for parents who do not want to use centering parenthood.
Building a pedagogical foundation
Centering parenthood aligns with the ambitions of the Utrecht Youth Policy, in which the municipality focuses on a strong pedagogical foundation and group-oriented work. By strengthening the pedagogical foundation, relatively simple questions can be answered among parents themselves. This prevents escalation and larger (youth) care requests.
Alderman Dennis de Vries, Youth: “In Utrecht, we want to normalize questions about raising and growing up children and ensure that the own network can help with parenting. By actively bringing new parents together, they get to know each other and can build a trusting relationship. They see that they are not the only ones who sometimes experience difficulties and can also rely on each other outside group appointments. For example, if a child does not want to sleep at night; maybe there are other parents who are also awake at that moment. Knowing you are not alone can help enormously.”
Who is it for?
Starting March 2026, two groups will start, one at the consultation office in Vleuterweide and one at the consultation office on Van Hoornekade in Zuilen. Initially, new parents participate only by invitation and try to connect as much as possible with the centering pregnancy groups. A group consists of a maximum of eight children and their parents. One or both parents are welcome to join. If there are still places available in the groups, parents can also be asked to join during a home visit by the JGZ. The first group meeting is from the moment the children are eight weeks old.
More groups will be added in the coming year; by 2028, centering parenthood will be available throughout Utrecht, from a total of four locations.
Help and contact – Municipality of Utrecht
Visiting address
Stadsplateau 1
3521 AZ Utrecht
Postal address
PO Box 16200
3500 CE Utrecht