Background Pregnant women experience early labour as the first phase of labour with different physical and emotional symptoms. Early admission to hospital has been found to be associated with increased intervention and caesarean section rates. However, primiparous women often contact the hospital before labour ...

With the Covid 19 pandemic, the digital future has become the present: In the short term, interventions with physical presence have been replaced by interventions at a distance. The effectiveness of these interventions has little been researched, the legal requirements have not been conclusively clarified and are ...

The goal of this project is the systematic and evidence based development of digital health care services for expecting parents and parents of infants, who are disadvantaged in the health care context of maternity care, nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and pediatric care, because of language or cultural ...

Since the introduction of Swiss Diagnosis Related Groups (SwissDRG), the new tariff system for acute somatic inpatient hospital services, hospital stays after childbirth have shortened and accordingly outpatient postpartum care services provided by midwives have gradually gained more importance. It is therefore ...

Sexual life is an important part of woman’s health. Childbirth is a stressful event, which can affect female sexual quality of life. Sexual dysfunction is prevalent in the postpartum period and might have adverse consequences on health and wellbeing but also burden the relationship. The sexuality after having given ...

The consumption of alcohol during pregnancy and breastfeeding is a public health issue characterized by uncertainty regarding the effects of a low or moderate intake. Health policy-makers have adopted a precautionary approach and recommend complete abstinence from alcohol as the safest choice. In this context, ...

The Swiss Federation of Midwives (SHV/FSSF) has been recording the activities and services of independent midwives throughout Switzerland since 2005. The goal of this survey is quality assurance. This data is evaluated annually using descriptive statistics and published in an extensive report and/or a flyer. In ...

Familystart Zurich is a non-profit association which was established in May 2015. The association promotes a needs-based support of midwives for families and new-borns. Familystart uses its resources for the arrangement of postpartum care, for promoting a healthy start in life for new-borns and their families, for ...

Midwives are qualified to care independently for women and their children during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period and to consult professionals in case of deviations from the physiological process. In practise there are clear indications for discrepancies between the competences of the midwives and ...

We are translating into German plain language summaries of Cochrane reviews about midwifery geared towards a lay audience jointly with Cochrane Switzerland. These summaries are provided free of charge and can most easily be retrieved online via "Cochrane Kompakt”. The systematic reviews summarize all existing ...

Midwives in Switzerland accompany women and families during pregnancy and childbirth up to eight weeks after birth. During this time they not only attend the mother during labour and birth, they also promote the health of the mother and her child and support parents in caring for their newborn child. During the ...

Pregnant migrant women and their families might be affected by a double stressor compared to non-migrant women, stemming from the maternal adjustment process but also from coping with living in a foreign country, limited communication or the uncertainty of their residence status. An increased maternal and child ...

Aim: To develop a model of the emerging expectations of the mode of giving birth and the subsequent experiences of healthy primigravid women in Switzerland. Research questions: What are healthy primigravid women’s expectations in early pregnancy of giving birth? How do these expectations change during pregnancy? ...

Background The disclosure of a diagnosis during pregnancy of a fetal congenital malformation incompatible with life normally comes completely unexpectedly to the parents. While a body of international literature has considered the topic, there is little direct evidence generated in Switzerland. This study aimed to ...

Background: Women who plan an out of hospital birth in developed countries are generally classified as low risk. Nevertheless, during birth, unexpected complications may arise, which need competent decisions from the responsible health professionals. Aim: The aim of this study is to document the process of decision ...