Healthcare

Midwifery practices: destroying records under the WGBO

29 July 2026 · 10 min read · DeSnipperaar

A midwifery practice works with the most sensitive data there is. The pregnancy and birth record holds medical notes, scans, results and the account of a vulnerable period. Even a small practice quietly builds up a substantial archive. This guide shows how long you keep those records under the WGBO, how you handle scans and handover, and how you have the whole confidentially and demonstrably destroyed.

In short, you keep the client record for twenty years under the WGBO, and for a child that period is counted from the age at which the child reaches adulthood. Scans and medical data belong to the record and follow the same period. The invoicing you keep for seven years. What you no longer need after that disappears confidentially and with a certificate.

The WGBO as the starting point

For a midwife the Dutch Medical Treatment Contracts Act, the WGBO, is decisive. The WGBO requires you to keep the client record for twenty years, counted from the last change in the record. It is a carefully chosen floor, because the data may still matter years later for the health of mother or child. So you do not set a shorter period yourself, but you also do not clear out later than necessary.

The background to this period and the way you calculate it is set out in full in the WGBO and the 20-year retention period for patient files. The starting point is the same for every care provider. The midwifery practice differs mainly in the nature of the data and in the special position of the child.

A child's record counts differently

At a midwife the care is almost always around birth, so it concerns data that partly relates to a child. The WGBO takes account of this. For a minor's record the twenty-year period is counted not from the treatment but from the moment the child reaches adulthood. In practice this means a record around a birth is kept far longer than twenty years from the delivery.

That keeps your archive alive for a long time. It is wise to record per file when the period ends, so that you do not destroy too early and do not keep everything forever. A clear register of end dates prevents a small archive from quietly growing into a cabinet full of sensitive data without any overview.

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 care period from the last change in the record or, for a child, from adulthood.

Part	Starting point	Period
Pregnancy and birth record	WGBO	20 years
Scans and results	Part of the record	20 years
A child's record	WGBO, from adulthood	20 years after 18
Handover notes to hospital and maternity care	Part of the record	20 years
Invoicing and administration	Tax retention obligation	7 years
Loose notes and drafts	No retention obligation	clear out at once

Use this as a guideline, not a substitute for your professional standards. The approach matches what other care providers apply, as set out at physiotherapy and destroying client records and at the dentist file under the WGBO. When in doubt about an individual record, consult your professional body or privacy adviser.

Scans and medical data

Scans are more than an image. They are part of the medical record and count towards the twenty-year retention period. The same applies to results, blood values and notes on the course of the pregnancy. They are health data and therefore special-category personal data, the category the GDPR protects most heavily. You do not keep them more loosely than the rest of the record and you do not clear them out earlier.

Watch the digital side too. Images and data often sit on a practice computer, a backup or an old hard drive. A data carrier with scans and medical data calls for the same care as the paper. When a device is replaced, the old carrier should be destroyed confidentially and not simply end up in a drawer or with the waste.

Handover to hospital and maternity care

Midwifery care is rarely a closed whole. You hand over to a hospital on a medical indication and you work with maternity care after the birth. On that handover you share specifically what the care requires. The handover note you draw up or receive belongs to your record and follows the same period.

Do guard against double stacks. There is no need to keep every copy and every interim note forever if the core is already in the record. Surplus copies and loose printouts you clear out confidentially once they have served their purpose. That way you keep a record that is complete without your archive filling up needlessly with sensitive data.

How to handle it in 6 steps

1. Record the end date per file, with attention to the longer period for a child.
2. Keep scans and medical data with the record and treat them just as carefully.
3. Clear out surplus handover copies once they have served their purpose.
4. Separate the administration with its seven-year tax period.
5. Collect what may go in a sealed container, not in the paper bin.
6. Have it destroyed confidentially with a certificate and record it in your register.

Destroy confidentially with a certificate

Midwifery 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 stays closed. That way you prevent sensitive data becoming visible along the route after all. An old practice computer or backup with scans belongs in this process 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, exactly as described at demonstrable destruction for the GDPR. 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

• Destroying too early. For a child the period runs on until long after the birth.
• Treating scans separately and more loosely. They belong to the record and are just as sensitive.
• Forgetting data carriers. An old practice computer often still holds complete records.
• Keeping handover copies. Clear out double printouts once they have served their purpose.
• Keeping no proof. Without a certificate you cannot demonstrate the destruction.

Frequently asked questions

How long must a midwife keep the client record?

The WGBO prescribes a retention period of twenty years. For a child's record that period is counted from the age at which the child reaches adulthood, so the record is kept longer in practice. The invoicing separately falls under the seven-year tax retention obligation.

Do scans and medical data also fall under the retention period?

Yes. Scans, results and medical notes belong to the client record and follow the same twenty-year period. They are health data and therefore special-category personal data that call for extra care.

What happens to data on handover to a hospital or maternity care?

You share specifically what the care requires and remain responsible for your own record. Do not keep double stacks of handover notes you do not need and clear out surplus copies confidentially.

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

Confidentially and with a certificate of destruction. Paper and data carriers travel sealed until destruction and you record it in your record of processing as proof.

Conclusion

A midwifery practice manages the most sensitive data around pregnancy and birth, from scans to handover notes. The WGBO requires a retention period of twenty years, which for a child only starts running from adulthood. Keep scans and medical data with the record, clear out surplus handover copies on time and keep the administration for seven years. What may go you have destroyed confidentially with a certificate as proof. That way you protect the data of mother and child and demonstrably meet both the WGBO and the GDPR.

Read also: nursing homes: destroying resident records, maternity care: destroying client records, dental labs: destroying patient data and the GDPR retention periods cheatsheet.

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