# Nearly all Dutch municipalities back Kansrijke Start, but children's health lags

> The national programme to support expectant parents and young children now runs in almost every municipality, yet child overweight, parents' mental health problems and debt are rising, the RIVM says.

Society · published 2026-10-13 08:47 · https://nlnow.nl/a/nearly-all-dutch-municipalities-back-kansrijke-start-but-children-s-health-lags/

Almost all Dutch municipalities now offer initiatives under the national Kansrijke Start approach to support (expectant) parents and children, and in 2025 some 92 percent made local agreements with midwives, maternity care organisations and child health clinics. Yet the health of young children has not improved in recent years, according to the seventh progress report from the RIVM.

Just over 10 percent of 2-year-olds are overweight, up from 8 percent in 2018. In 2024, after years of decline, slightly more children were born into families living in difficult circumstances.

## Mental health and debt

Mental health problems among pregnant women and their partners are increasing. A third of women experience depression, anxiety or a lot of stress after giving birth.

The share of pregnant women and partners with large debts has risen slightly, as has the share of children born prematurely or with a low birth weight. All of these are higher among families in a vulnerable situation, the RIVM says.

## What the programme does

Municipalities have been able to set up Kansrijke Start initiatives since 2018. The RIVM has monitored the approach since 2019 on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). Cooperation between local partners helps spot problems early, refer people quickly and support parents. One initiative, Nu Niet Zwanger, helps people hold open conversations about wanting children, sexuality and contraception.

The RIVM sees ways to increase the programme's impact. Few municipalities involve people with lived experience and (expectant) parents in developing initiatives, which it says is important so that they fit what parents need. It also stresses the need for more insight into who takes part and whether the initiatives contribute to a good start.

## Background

- **RIVM (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu)**: The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, the government institute that monitors infectious diseases, runs the national vaccination programmes and measures air quality and nitrogen deposition.
- **Kansrijke Start**: Kansrijke Start (literally 'promising start') is a national Dutch approach in which municipalities and health and care partners work together to support expectant parents and young children, from pregnancy through early childhood. It focuses on prevention and on coordinating support for issues that affect a child's health and development, such as parental wellbeing, growing up in a stable home, and access to care. Municipalities adopt it locally, so the specific initiatives can differ from one place to another.

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