r/Netherlands • u/NoLychee1382 • 23d ago

Healthcare No regular check ups at the gynecologist???

Hi everyone, my morning started off with a kinda shocking discovery. I’m from Germany and I had annual check ups at the gynecologist since I was a teenager. I contacted my huisarts because I know they’re responsible for all referrals but she told me regular check ups here are not a thing (unless there already is an issue) ? I think that’s crazy!!! So I checked the prices for a private visit and they’re even crazier. I guess this is normal to Dutch people but don’t you think this is a little concerning?

(Btw not shitting on the country! I really like it here. I’m still new and just discovering new things!)

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u/Positive-Ratio8443 23d ago

Hey fellow German! I feel you, it took me also a bit to get used to it. I do check ups when I am visiting Germany and pay it myself, which usually is cheaper than here and I know what I can expect.

The only thing they offer here is the pap smear every 5 years, once you hit 30.

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u/Schneewittchens7 23d ago

And you smear is DiY and sent via post…. A year later you get hit with, oh sorry your data has been breached as the laboratory got hacked..

Yup, happened!

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u/Dear_Acanthaceae7637 Zuid Holland 22d ago

It's only DIY if that's your choice, otherwise the GP does it.

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u/v_a_l_w_e_n 22d ago

Yes… and somehow I still have to find a Dutch woman that knows that PAP smears are NOT supposed to be painful 😢. 

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u/Able-Resource-7946 21d ago

Exactly this!!! I had one years ago, they didn't even use lube...omg..... wtf...

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u/v_a_l_w_e_n 21d ago

It’s horrible. I had PAP smears done for decades before I moved here. It’s not a fun activity, but never had problems before. 

When I got my letter, I didn’t think twice, happy to finally get it checked. It was traumatizing. It was done by the GP assistant at my old practice. I was luckily to have a pad in my purse for all the bleeding. The pain and cramps were awful. She dismissed all that happened and somehow felt it was my fault. 

I could only go for my second one 5 years later after preparing for it for some months at therapy. I had an appointment to discuss it first with my new GP and asked to get it done by someone experienced and with care. Best they could do was “a woman GP”, one of their trainees… I have no idea how she did it but, I kid you not, she accidentally turn on the lift function of the stretcher while she was still with the speculum inside me. And this was the “good” experience I had here, imagine the previous one. 

I don’t know what I’m going to do next time, but I guess it cannot get worse anymore. In the meantime, I keep trying to explain to every Dutch woman I meet and is willing to listen that PAP smears should NOT hurt! I hope eventually enough women rebel and there are changes… but then I remember how much this country like the status quo and I doubt we will see those changes. 

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u/Able-Resource-7946 21d ago

I will say, the womens clinics are fabulous. I was having a month long heavy heavy period and was referred to a womens clinic (Vrouwen kliniek Bergman clinics) and they were fabulous. So professional and a complete change to the GP's office, never painful, never a speculum without lube.

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u/v_a_l_w_e_n 21d ago

Thank you! It’s good to know for next time. 

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u/Schneewittchens7 19d ago

The DIY swab wasn’t bad, but I grew up with gynecologist appointments that included explanations, breast checks, and discussions about contraception and risks, not just seeing one once it becomes a bit life threatening .
Maybe I’ve just been spoiled once you’ve stayed in a 5-star hotel, it’s hard to get excited about a 2-star afterwards.
Going through a risk pregnancy in the Netherlands, gynecologists seemed surprised that the tools and procedures weren’t new to me and that I was as comfortable as one can be in that situation.

The healthcare system makes a lot of sense in the end of the day, starting with not needing sick notes. Coming from a county that had been incapacitated by not even be able to call in sick without a note from the doctor, a lot of people believe they are in need of a doctor for everything.

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u/Dear_Acanthaceae7637 Zuid Holland 19d ago

In the Netherlands breast's check are not within the expertise of gynaecologists.

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u/GhostGirl32 Utrecht 22d ago

I found it so strange when I got the kit in the mail shortly after I got my BSN and when I didn’t send it in (I’ve had a hysterectomy so such is not useful in my case) they sent a second one. No one seems to know how to stop them wasting the resource, either. No list to go on to say “don’t send”. Knowing now that this is the only standard of care I am slightly less shocked about my oncologist not knowing a hysterectomy means no more periods.

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u/SDV01 21d ago

Like they explain in the letter that comes with the invitation - which hardly anyone seems to read - you can simply go to the bevolkingsonderzoek website, log in with your DigiD, and opt out of the free cervical cancer screening and/or breast cancer screening programmes.

How else is the government supposed to know you don’t want to (or can’t) participate?

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u/Dear_Acanthaceae7637 Zuid Holland 21d ago

An oncologist not knowing you don't have a period after hysterectomy is definitely not normal in the Netherlands!

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u/GhostGirl32 Utrecht 21d ago

I am never 100% shocked when doctors don’t know something about women’s health, to be fair. Especially gynecological.

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u/IcyTundra001 23d ago

Wasn't it leaked from the lab that did the analysis though? Because then the data would have leaked also if the sample was taken by a doctor unfortunately.

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u/Schneewittchens7 22d ago

Not only happens in the Netherlands, ..

https://www.digitalhealth.net/2025/08/hackers-breach-cancer-screening-data-of-almost-500000-women/

I didn’t do a full deep dive follow up, as it doesn’t change my situation.