Hello,

I'm a newbie to this forum having just found out that we need to move to Switzerland for my husband's work very soon. It looks like a friendly place to share information, so I thought I'd give it a try!

We are moving from Spain to Montreux in the next couple of weeks and I am currently 7 months pregnant. Hence I need to find a maternity hospital and an Obs/gynaecologist ASAP! I speak very little French, so an English speaking Dr is essential.

I am wanting a natural birth with as few interventions as possible, and certainly the choice of what position I give birth in. I was planning to go to a Birthing Centre here in Spain where they have birthing pools available and they encourage active natural labour. Do such birthing centres exist in Switzerland near Montreux / Lausanne?

Does anyone know if independent midwives / doolas that would support a natural birth are common in this part of Switzerland and can they accompany you to hospital?

Is it possible to attend ante-natal classes in English here also?

Cheers,

Helen

Dr Hans Stamm, Hôpital Riviera, av. de Belmont 19, 1820 Montreux, Tel: 021 963 63 49 is a gynécologist who speaks very good English.

Sorry, too far away to know of local Maternity hospitals and too old to be up-to-date with matters of maternity anyway, so I cannot help you there. However, I can say Welcome to the Forum.
There are loads of Anglophones around the Lake Geneva region so you are pretty sure to have answers to your questions soon and further suggestions about settling in.
Hope the move goes well and that you all like your new surroundings.

Hi, welcome and congratulations.

I gave birth in Lausanne last year after arriving four months pregnant. Took me no time to find an english speaking obstetrician and I looked at a number of hospitals, both public and private. All of them had birthing pools in the delivery suites and the nurses seemed very open to accommodating your individual birthing plans.

One thing I would look into though is that you are covered insurance wise. It was a rude shock to me to find out how much the whole thing was going to cost.

You will be required by law to have insurance when you get here and this insurance (even buying it at this late stage) will cover some of your costs. I bought my swiss insurance just a few weeks before I gave birth and they pitched in a third of the costs. However, unless you have some other international insurance, you may be required to pay a fair bit of the costs yourself. Especially if you want a private room or anything extra than the very basic.

Don't depair though. The care and experience you will receive here will be second to none.

Good luck.

You can have the basic health insurance which will cover maternity but for the additional insurances you have to arrange cover a year before you become pregnant.

For free advice about insurance contact forum member Jenny who is based in Vevey.

Thank you for the advice and warm welcome.

Fortunately I already have health insurance with my husband's work, which will cover us in Switzerland also, so hopefully that will not be an issue.

Mel07 - which hospital did you give birth at in Lausanne? Did you feel you had much choice in the labour? I would like the option of squatting/kneeling or using a birthing stool for the actual birth, although I understand that the "normal" is to lie on the bed on your back. Is this possible in Swiss hospitals?

Helen

Hi,

I can't speak for Gynae/Obs but the University Hospital really is second to none. Swiss General Practitioners (FMH) spend a couple of years longer in training than in the UK, for instance, moving through a wider variety of specialist placements in Medicine. My GP, based at this Hospital, spoke good English as did other specialists. You may have to speak in French with the admin or some Nursing staff. In my opinion, however, it really is a brilliant hospital. You get what you pay for.

Bonne chance!

I DO enjoy saying, "I told you so!"

Hi,

I ended up going to a private clinic called Clinique de La Source.

I had a c-section so can't help you with labour options but as I mentioned, I certainly got the impression from everyone I dealt with that you had a big input into the process.

The main public hospital in Lausanne is CHUV. There is also a large public maternity hospital in Morge. And I also know a lot of women who gave birth at another private hospital in Lausanne called Cecil. There are options in the Vevey/Montreux area too but I'm not as familiar with them.

Of course, if you want a specific obstetrician to attend your birth then you would need to go private. Although, from meeting with staff from the public hospitals, they made it clear that there ws a lot of support offered from a number of sources (midwives etc).

I hope there are some other women on the forum that can help you with your specific questions on birthing positions.

Cheers,
Mel

We only moved here a month ago to very near Montreux and it is a very lovely place. I don't yet have a gyn/ob but will be finding one in the next few months. Someone I met here gave me a booklet of English speaking Drs - so if you don't find any recommendations PM me and I could give you some numbers.
Otherwise do get in contact when you arrive and we can meet-up and you can meet my one year-old.
V x

Hi,

I can recommend Dr. Stamm too. I live in Vevey so have another Gynecologist (Dr. Allemann - also very good) but recently had to have an operation after the birth of my daughter which was performed by Dr. Stamm. I believe he is also the gynecologist for the region.

I'd also recommend that you get in touch with the Centre de Sage Femme in Vevey. They have Ante Natal classes that will help you get ready for a birth in Switzerland and Rita Vichard speaks English and is a fantastic support before and after the birth. http://www.centre-sages-femmes.ch/

Having had a baby here six months ago, I'd can say that the care here is second to none and my daughter and I have had a fantastic experience - so don't worry about a thing, you will be in good hands!

P.S. I also had a natural birth, so no worries on that front. The hospital (which ever you choose) will encourage you to go in before the birth to discuss all your preferences and take you round their facilities. So as long as you don't have any complications, you will be able to have the birth you want.

It's a good tip regarding the insurance though, make sure you know exactly what you are entitled to to avoid any nasty surprises - babies are expensive enough already ; )

hello, I just found this forum on internet while I was looking for a Gynae in Vevey.

I just arrived here in April and I am a B-permit holder to live in Swiss

I am now 8 weeks pregnant, and I am looking for a place where I could follow up for my pregnancy. But I can't seems to find a clinic that could speak English. (I have yet to start my French lesson)

Could anyone out there help to give me some info?

Elle

Hi, this topic has been extensievaly covered before so I recommend that you look at these threads:

Pain relief during childbirth?

OB/GYN and hospital/clinic recommendations in Geneva

Maison de Naissance La Grange Rouge- experiences?

Independent midwives can accompany you to hospital (but not private cliniques), however they have a minimum number of pregnancy checkups requirement and usually like to follow you from early pregnancy. So I am not sure that they would accept you at such a late stage, but you should certainly contact them and check. Here you can find the list of widwives in your area http://www.hebamme.ch/fr/elt/heb/dir.cfm?md=kt&kt=vd

I think that the nearest birth centre to Montreux is in Aigle:
Maison de naissance Aquila
Ch du Grand Chêne1860 AigleFax 027 455 92 46Mobile 027 455 92 46

It is famous for being basically the only place around Geneva (that is not in France) where you can have a VBAC.

If you are really keen on natural birth, I suggest contacting midwives and the above birth centres as soon as possible. Contrary to what some other posters said, I do not believe that hospitals necessarily encourage natural birhts, they are much more likely to offer you epidurals and will almost certainly apply active labour management methods. I agree that as long as you don't have any complications you have a good chance of giving birth vaginally, but my experiece is that this process is like swimming upstream. Bottom line is that gynecologists are trained to be surgeons, hence they are invariably scalpel-happy (OK, there are some notable exceptions).

Bon courage and let me know if you have any further questions!

Hi Elle,

I have two recommendations for you in Vevey.

Dr. Delaloye (Mme.), Rue Deux Marches Tel: 021 923 6464
- Very nice, speaks English, female, doesn't' deliver the baby at the hospital

Dr. Marc-Henri Allemann, Rue d'Italie 58, 1800 Vevey Tél: 021 921 77 33
- Again very nice and thorough, speaks English, can deliver the baby at the hospital (if your insurance pays for this and you want him to).

Also, as above, get in contact with Rita Vichard at the Centre du Sage Femmes (Midwife centre) to organise Ante Natal classes. She is fab and will see you through everything.

If you have any more Qs, don't hesitate to drop me a message. I've just had a baby here and happy to share any tips.

I have recently moved to Lausanne and I am 5 months pregnant. Can anyone suggest some good obstetricians? I have heard that most aren't accepting new clients and am worrying that I might not be able to find one!!

Hi Helen
I'm also a newbie to the forum and also pregnant (due in October). I live in Bern, but would love to keep in touch to see how you get on in Switzerland. I have been here a year so do have some contacts, but not sure they will be useful to you. I also have an english midwife, her name is Sue Brailey www.midwife-hebamme.ch, but I'm not sure how far her area spans

Good luck

Hi Helen,
There is not easy to get a doctor or midwife in Swiss. And you need to make your appointment early. I have been to one in Lausanne recently. The doctor could speak French & English. And is a lady doctor and he will deliver baby too.

Details as below:
Dr Martine Fankhauser
Av. Ruchonnet 41
Tel : +41 021 311 3842
Fax : +41 021 011 3843
Email : info@medecinedelafemme.com

You may try contact the clinic and fix an appointment.

Hope this help

EEK! I've been wondering about how VBAC-friendly Switzerland is, and hearing that worries me. I was corralled into having a C-section for my first child, and we're thinking about having number two soonish. Do you happen to know of any VBAC-friendly facilities near Winterthur or Zurich?