What and when
Two specialists you must find before your baby is born: a Hebamme (midwife) and a Kinderarzt (pediatrician). Both are in short supply — and most parents start looking too late.
A Hebamme is legally required to provide postpartum home visits (Wochenbettbetreuung) for the first 8–12 weeks. Your Krankenkasse covers the cost fully.
The Kinderarzt sees your baby for the first U2 examination as early as day 3–10 of life.
What you need to do
Hebamme — right after the positive test:
Search on hebammen.de, enter your postal code. Write to several midwives at the same time — briefly, with your due date:
„Ich suche eine Hebamme für die Wochenbettbetreuung. Mein voraussichtlicher Geburtstermin ist [date]. Haben Sie noch Kapazitäten?”
Ask your OB/GYN — they usually have personal contacts. Join local parent groups: up-to-date midwife contacts often circulate there.
Birthing clinic — before week 20:
Choose a hospital or Geburtshaus and make the Kreißsaal-Anmeldung. Many clinics hold an open day (“Tag der offenen Tür”) where you can tour the facilities and register.
Kinderarzt — 2–3 months before due date:
Search within 2–3 km of your home. Call rather than write:
„Wir erwarten im [month] unser Kind und suchen einen Kinderarzt. Nehmen Sie neue Patienten an?”
We found our midwife through a local Telegram parent group — four contacts within 2 hours, none of them listed on any official portal. Networks work better than registries.
For the Kreißsaal registration: visit the open day. You can see the birthing room, chat with midwives, and register on the spot. At our hospital it took 5 minutes.