Stichting STBN

What Stichting STBN does

Stichting STBN is a Dutch non-profit foundation (Stichting) headquartered at Domus Medica, Mercatorlaan 1200 in Utrecht, founded in 2001 to address a national shortage of midwives. The organization operates a network of four birth centers and echo centers across the Netherlands — specifically Geboortehuis Utrecht and Geboortecentrum Amersfoort (birth centers), and Echocentrum Het Haagse Hof (Den Haag) and Echocentrum Vita (Groningen, with satellite locations in Veendam and Winschoten) — collectively representing 8+ physical service points. Core services span the full maternity-care cycle: preconception counseling, prenatal screening ultrasounds (13-week and 20-week echoes plus vitaliteit, termijn, growth, placental localization, and position echoes), elective keepsake pretecho's (early 2D, gender determination from week 14, and 3D/4D at 24-30 weeks), birth-center deliveries in non-medical, home-like environments, and postnatal kraamzorg (with extended-stay option at Geboortehuis Utrecht from May 2025 onwards).

The underlying technology is conventional medical ultrasound imaging performed by qualified echoscopists in HKZ- and ISO 9001-certified facilities, following Dutch national screening guidelines. There is no proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML components, and no software products in the source data. Delivery services are conducted under midwife supervision in physical birth-center rooms supporting bed, bath, and chair delivery options plus pain management.

STBN's commercial model mixes reimbursed clinical services with out-of-pocket elective services. Medical screening ultrasounds and birth-center deliveries (at outpatient hospital rates without medical indication) are reimbursed by Dutch health insurers subject to policy terms and a midwife referral. Pretecho's (keuze-echo's) are paid directly by parents with no insurance involvement. Customer acquisition is community-led: midwives, GPs, and gynecologists refer expecting parents into STBN facilities, supported by SEO-optimized location pages and FAQ content for parents and professionals. The organization reports a 25% reduction in secondary-care referrals and 9+ scores on both visitation and service-delivery satisfaction metrics, and is governed by a Supervisory Board (Raad van Toezicht) with a Directeur (Lauri Winkel) as executive lead.

Name

Stichting STBN

Legal name

Stichting STBN

Website

https://stbn.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Stichting STBN is a Dutch non-profit foundation that operates a network of birth centers and accredited echo centers in Utrecht, The Hague, Amersfoort, and Groningen, providing prenatal screening ultrasounds, elective keepsake echoes, midwife-supervised deliveries, and postnatal kraamzorg to expecting parents in collaboration with Dutch hospitals and midwives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maternity Care Services

NAICS

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (62211)

SIC

Services-Hospitals (8060)

akta.pro primary industry

Prenatal & Maternal-Fetal Diagnostic Imaging Centers (HLAFAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Obstetrics (Prenatal/Antepartum Care) (HLAKAJAA), Maternity & Perinatal Hospitals (Acute Care) (HLAFAAAJ)

Keywords

• Maternity care services
• Birth center operations
• Prenatal ultrasound imaging
• Postnatal kraamzorg
• Midwifery collaboration

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Medical Echo Services: Screening echoes (13-week and 20-week echoes) are fully reimbursed by Dutch health insurers when the patient has a referral from their midwife. Medical echoes with medical indication are also generally covered by insurance.
2. Pretecho Services (Keuze-echo's): Pre-echoes (pretecho's) requested by parents without medical indication are paid out-of-pocket by customers. These include gender determination, 3D/4D echoes, and souvenir ultrasounds.
3. Birth Center Delivery Services: Delivery services at birth centers are charged at rates equivalent to outpatient hospital births without medical indication. Reimbursement depends on the individual health insurance policy terms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Stichting STBN operates a network of birth centers (geboortecentra) and echo centers (echocentra) across the Netherlands, delivering comprehensive maternity care services. The organization provides preconception counseling, prenatal screening ultrasounds, elective keepsake ultrasounds (pretecho's), delivery support in safe non-medical birth center environments with options for bed, bath, or chair delivery, and postnatal maternity care (kraamzorg).

Product overview

STBN operates a network of birth centers (geboortecentra) and echo centers (echocentra) across the Netherlands, providing comprehensive maternity care services. The organization offers medical ultrasound screening services and optional keepsake pretecho's through its echo centers (Echocentrum Vita in Groningen, Echocentrum Het Haagse Hof in The Hague), while birth centers (Geboortecentrum Amersfoort, Geboortehuis Utrecht) provide safe, non-medical delivery environments with professional support. Services span the entire pregnancy journey including preconception counseling, prenatal care, delivery support with various birth options (bed, bath, chair), and postnatal maternity care. STBN collaborates with midwives, hospitals, and gynecologists to ensure continuous, quality care for mothers and children.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Echocentrum Vita Echo center operating at Martini Ziekenhuis in Groningen and satellite locations in Veendam and Winschoten, offering medical screening ultrasounds and elective keepsake pretecho's for expecting parents.
• Echocentrum Het Haagse Hof Echo center in The Hague operating from three locations (Haga Ziekenhuis, Gezondheidscentrum Calandria, Haagsch Geboortehuys), providing medical screening ultrasounds and elective pretecho's to expecting parents.
• Geboortecentrum Amersfoort Birth center in Amersfoort located in Meander Medisch Centrum, providing safe, non-medical delivery environments with options for bed, bath, or chair delivery and pain management, supervised by midwives and maternity nurses.
• Geboortehuis Utrecht Birth center in Utrecht located in Diakonessenhuis, offering professional delivery support in a safe, homely, non-medical environment with postnatal kraamzorg and extended stay options from May onwards.
• Medical Ultrasounds (Screeningsecho's) Medically indicated ultrasound services including 13-week echo, 20-week echo, vitaliteitsecho, termijnecho, growth echo, placental localization, and position echo. Requires midwife referral; covered by Dutch health insurance.
• Pretecho's (Keepsake Ultrasounds) Elective, parent-requested ultrasound services including early 2D echo (week 7-12), gender determination (from week 14), keepsake echo (from week 12), and 3D/4D echo (week 24-30). No referral required; costs borne by parents.
• Postnatal Maternity Care (Kraamzorg) Maternity care provided in birth centers from the first moments after delivery until the family goes home, offering support and guidance for mother and newborn during the immediate postnatal period.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% fewer referrals to secondary (tweedelijns) care
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Verloskundigen (Midwives)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTBN works closely with independent midwives who provide primary care during pregnancy and delivery at birth centers. Midwives bring patients to STBN facilities and collaborate on patient care throughout the pregnancy journey.
• Kraamverzorgenden (Maternity nurses)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaternity nurses provide professional support during deliveries at birth centers, working alongside midwives to ensure quality care for mothers and newborns.
• Diakonessenhuis UtrechtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeboortehuis Utrecht operates within Diakonessenhuis hospital, providing birth center services in collaboration with the hospital's obstetric facilities.
• Haga Ziekenhuis Den HaagcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEchocentrum Het Haagse Hof operates within Haga Hospital, providing accredited echo services at the hospital location.
• Meander Medisch Centrum AmersfoortcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeboortecentrum Amersfoort is located within Meander Medical Center's department B1, offering birth center services in partnership with the hospital.
• Martini Ziekenhuis GroningencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEchocentrum Vita operates at Martini Hospital in Groningen, providing echo services within the hospital facility.
• Verloskundigenpraktijk VeendamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEchocentrum Vita satellite location at the midwifery practice in Veendam.
• Verloskundig Centrum de Wieg WinschotenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEchocentrum Vita satellite location at the midwifery center in Winschoten.
• Dutch Health Insurers (Zorgverzekeraars)coreOthersDutch health insurance companies reimburse STBN's medical services including screening echoes and (with conditions) birth center deliveries, making services accessible to insured patients.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Ovia Health: Digital women's health platform offering fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum tracking and virtual care. Comparable to STBN as a digital-first entrant competing for parental engagement during pregnancy, the same window in which STBN generates its screening and elective echo revenue.
• Maven Clinic: Digital women's and family health platform offering virtual maternity care, postpartum support, and midwife/OB access. Comparable to STBN as a forward-looking model for how expectant parents may increasingly consume prenatal and postnatal care, representing a digital competitor to STBN's in-person birth and echo center experience.
• Babyscripts: US-based digital maternity care platform providing remote monitoring, prenatal education, and connected health tools for OB providers and payers. Comparable to STBN as an emerging model for capturing the expectant parent relationship and upstream referral decisions away from facility-based providers like STBN.

Others

• Medela: Global manufacturer of breastfeeding and maternity care products, including hospital-grade solutions used in birth and postnatal care settings. Comparable to STBN as an adjacent ecosystem participant whose products and clinical programs overlap with the kraamzorg and postnatal experience STBN provides.

Direct peers

• Geboortecentrum (other Dutch city-based birth centers): Other Dutch geboortecentra (e.g. Geboortehuis Amsterdam, Geboortecentrum Leiden) operate midwife-led birth centers within or alongside hospitals, directly competing with STBN's Geboortehuis Utrecht and Geboortecentrum Amersfoort for low-risk deliveries and parent referrals in their respective catchments.
• Bo Geboortezorg: Dutch regional birth care collaboration organising integrated maternity care (kraamzorg, midwifery, obstetric care) across multiple Dutch regions. Highly comparable to STBN as it operates the same Dutch midwife-led maternity ecosystem and competes for the same expectant parents and hospital partnerships.
• Kraamzorg Nederland: Dutch national kraamzorg provider delivering postnatal maternity care in the home and facility settings. Comparable to STBN because it serves the same Dutch postpartum patient cohort, competes for the same postnatal care slots, and overlaps with STBN's kraamzorg offering within the birth centers.

Broad incumbents

• Koninklijke Nederlandse Organisatie van Verloskundigen (KNOV): The Royal Dutch Organisation of Midwives is the national professional body governing the verloskundigen that STBN's model depends on. It is comparable as the incumbent industry steward whose policies, training, and referral frameworks shape the operating environment for STBN's birth centers and echo centers.
• Philips (Maternal & Child Health): Global health technology company with maternal and child health products including ultrasound and monitoring used in prenatal care. Comparable to STBN as a broad incumbent whose imaging equipment underpins echo center workflows and whose consumer pregnancy products compete for expectant parent mindshare.

Regional players

• The Midwife Center (Pittsburgh): US freestanding birth center operating under a midwife-led model with embedded ultrasound and prenatal services. Comparable to STBN as an international reference for the freestanding birth center + echo center operating model, though operating in a different geography and US reimbursement system.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stichtingstbn
• Facebookfacebook.com/stichtingstbn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stbn

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stichting STBN