Birth centre, midwife-led birth or a hospital birth?

It wasn't so long ago that the vast majority of children were born at home in bed. This had been the case since time immemorial, as there were hardly any alternatives. But after the Second World War, modern medicine made enormous progress and the healthcare system was massively expanded. From the 1970s at the latest, hospital births became the norm. More recently, however, there has been a trend towards alternative types and places of birth.

Birth in the birth centre

according to the Swiss Birth Centres Interest Group, there were 23 birth centres in Switzerland in 2016. Of the 87,883 children born in 2016, 1769 were born in a birth centre. This corresponds to around two per cent. In birth centres, pregnant women and couples are accompanied and cared for by midwives during pregnancy, birth and in the first few days after the birth. If complications arise, the woman and child are transferred to hospital: This is the case, for example, if the birth takes too long, the pain becomes too severe or if the woman requests a peridural anaesthetic (epidural). in 2016, 17 per cent of women who started a birth in a birthing centre had to be transferred to a hospital unscheduled. This mainly affected women who were giving birth for the first time.

Hospital birth

The tried and tested classic: a spontaneous labour in hospital, accompanied by an interprofessional team of doctors, midwives and nurses. The vast majority of children in this country are born in this way. The doctor-midwife model focuses on the individual care and self-determination of the woman: she decides when and whether she wants medication or a peridural anaesthetic (epidural) to relieve the pain. Thanks to the medical infrastructure, hospital birth offers the highest possible level of safety. There is therefore no alternative to this model, especially for high-risk pregnancies.

The midwife-led birth

If you want to be cared for exclusively by a midwife under top medical conditions, you can opt for a so-called midwife-led birth in hospital. This model is becoming increasingly popular.