Healthcare

Maternity care: destroying client records of mother and child

29 July 2026 · 9 min read · DeSnipperaar

A maternity carer visits the family at home in the first days after a birth and records a great deal along the way. The mother's record, the newborn's data, the care plan and the handover to the midwife and the child health clinic. These are health data and therefore special-category personal data, with a long retention period under the WGBO. This guide shows, by part, what you keep, when it may go and how to destroy it confidentially.

The quick answer: the maternity record falls under the WGBO retention period of in principle twenty years, counted from the last change to the record. The invoicing falls under the seven-year tax retention obligation. Working notes with no lasting value you clear out at once. What may go disappears confidentially and with a certificate.

Two frameworks: WGBO and GDPR

In maternity care two frameworks run together. The WGBO governs the care relationship and requires you to keep a record and to retain it for a long period. Alongside this the GDPR applies, which requires not keeping personal data longer than necessary. The WGBO sets the floor for what you must keep, the GDPR the ceiling for what you may not keep too long afterwards.

Health data are special-category personal data and enjoy extra protection. A maternity record contains data about the health of mother and child, about the birth and about the course of the maternity period. So treat that record with the same care as other medical records, from the first note to the eventual destruction. The main line of the retention obligation is in the WGBO 20-year patient files.

Retention periods by part

The period differs per type of data. The overview below gives the main line. Count the tax period from the end of the financial year and the WGBO period from the last change to the record.

Part	Starting point	Period
Maternity record of mother and child	WGBO retention obligation	20 years
Care plan and handover	Part of the record	20 years
Invoicing and administration	Tax retention obligation	7 years
Consent and identity data	As limited as possible	only what is needed
Working notes and drafts	No retention obligation	clear out at once

Use this as a guideline, not a substitute for your own quality policy. When in doubt, consult your sector association or privacy adviser. A wider overview of periods is in the GDPR retention periods cheatsheet.

Records of mother and newborn

In a maternity record the data of two people come together. The mother is your client, but you also record data about the newborn. For the child the retention period can work out differently than for the mother, because the period can run longer for a minor. So keep the data recognisably ordered, so that later you can judge per person what may go and what still falls under the retention obligation.

That distinction prevents you from destroying a whole record too early or keeping it too long. What you no longer need and what does not fall under the WGBO, such as single worksheets after the handover, you clear out in good time. What does fall under the retention obligation you keep safely until the period has passed.

Handover to midwife and child health clinic

Maternity care does not stand alone. You work with the midwife and, at the end of the maternity period, hand over to the child health clinic. At that handover you share the data the follow-up care needs. Working copies you used during the maternity week often have no purpose after the handover and should not be left lying around then.

After each completion, judge which documents go to the record and which single copies can go. A duplicate set of notes you no longer use for anything you do not keep just in case. Without a purpose the ground to hold that data lapses.

Paper on the way to the client's home

Maternity care is care at home. Paper travels along in a bag or in the car, from schedules to worksheets and handover forms. On the road the risk of loss is greatest. So keep the chain closed. Take documents back with you afterwards and keep nothing at the carer's home or for long in the car.

This approach fits other forms of care that take place in people's homes. The method is comparable to that at home care and client records and to the way a practice for physiotherapy destroys a client record. Collect what may go in one fixed place and have it destroyed confidentially in one go.

How to handle it in 6 steps

1. Split the record into data of the mother and of the newborn.
2. Judge per person whether the WGBO period has passed.
3. Clear out working copies as soon as the handover is complete.
4. Keep the chain closed for paper that has been to the home.
5. Collect what may go in sealed containers, not in the paper bin.
6. Have it destroyed confidentially with a certificate and record it in your register.

Destroy confidentially with a certificate

Maternity records are destroyed confidentially, because they contain health data of mother and child. The paper and any data carriers travel sealed and stay that way until destruction, so the chain from home to destroyer is closed. An old laptop or backup with record data belongs with it too.

Afterwards you receive a certificate of destruction with the date, quantity and level. That certificate is your proof towards the GDPR that you acted carefully. Record the destruction in your record of processing. We collect within 20 km of Amsterdam with no call-out charge, work nationwide through pooled collection rounds and charge a fixed price per box or roll container. Drop-off on site is not possible; it works by appointment through collection.

Common mistakes

• Treating the whole record as one. Mother and child can have a different period.
• Leaving working copies lying around. After the handover the purpose often lapses.
• Keeping paper at home or in the car. On the road the risk of loss is greatest.
• Throwing away unshredded. A maternity record on the street is a reportable data breach.
• Keeping no proof. Without a certificate you cannot demonstrate the destruction.

Frequently asked questions

How long must a maternity care organisation keep the client record?

The maternity record falls under the WGBO and in principle has a retention period of twenty years, counted from the last change to the record. For a newborn the period can run longer. The invoicing falls under the seven-year tax retention obligation.

Do maternity care data count as special-category personal data?

Yes. Data about the health of mother and child are health data and therefore special-category personal data. They enjoy extra protection and call for careful storage and for confidential destruction.

What do I do with paper that has been to the client's home?

Take worksheets and single notes back with you afterwards and keep the chain closed. Keep nothing at the carer's home or in the car and have whatever may go destroyed confidentially.

How do I destroy maternity records in line with the GDPR?

Confidentially and with a certificate of destruction. Paper and data carriers travel sealed and the destruction is recorded in the record of processing.

Conclusion

A maternity care organisation works with health data of mother and newborn, between the WGBO and the GDPR. Keep the record for the WGBO period, keep the administration seven years and judge per person what may go. Working copies you clear out after the handover and paper that has been to the home you keep in a closed chain. What may go you have destroyed confidentially with a certificate as proof. That way you meet both frameworks and protect the family's data.

Read also: nursing homes: destroying resident records, midwifery practices: destroying records and the WGBO, dental labs: destroying patient data and the GDPR retention periods cheatsheet.

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Have maternity records collected? Request a quote via desnipperaar.nl. Within a few minutes you have a fixed price, including a certificate as proof.