Fewer people are opting for a job in maternity care, resulting in families with young babies having to share the services of a maternity nurse or relying on family members to help out, the Volkskrant reported on Friday..

A ten-day period of maternity care is part of the basic insurance package in the Netherlands. The shortage means that instead of six hours a day, new parents may only have a maternity nurse helping out for three hours a day. The problem is particularly pressing in the Randstad and Brabant, the paper found.

There are no figures to pinpoint the exact size of the problem but a survey among maternity care workers by the association of maternity nurses earlier this summer showed one in five wanted to leave the profession.

The lack of a balance between home life and work was cited as a reason as was the fact they are not compensated for extra hours, travel time and administrative tasks.