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Having a Baby: Pregnancy and Birth in Geneva, Switzerland

Once pregnancy is suspected, a woman may go to a Family Planning Centre, a gynaecologist or a general practitioner for blood tests, urine tests and confirmation of pregnancy. The doctor may issue a "maternity notebook" (carnet de maternité) in which all processes of the maternity are logged (this is optional).

Prenatal Classes

Prenatal classes in English covering topics such as pregnancy, labour and postpartum life are available from Arcade Sages Femmes. There is a fee payable.

Arcade Sages Femmes
At: 85 Boulevard Carl-Vogt, 1205 Geneva
Tel: +41 (0)79 518 58 17
e-mail

Maternity Leave

Under Swiss Federal Law a woman is not obliged to inform her employer that she is pregnant.

Working women are eligible for 14 weeks paid maternity leave. The Swiss labour laws forbid women to work in the first eight weeks following birth. From the ninth to the end of the 16th week, only women who have consented need return to work.

Further measures are planned for the future directed at the protection of women during their pregnancy and the initial period following birth such as the time devoted to breast-feeding and the organisation of working schedules.

Women are protected from dismissal.

The Birth

Births may take place at a private or public maternity hospital. The doctor will provide information on the possible choices, on how to book a clinic or hospital and when.

Accouchement ambulatoire is permitted at Geneva hospitals. This allows the mother to give birth at hospital but return home after a few hours if she and the baby are both well. This is not the case in all cantons. After the mother returns home a midwife visits the mother and baby regularly for up to ten days.

Women may also give birth in a maternity facility known as a birth house (maison de la naissance). Here the atmosphere is deliberately more homely and less clinical. Women are attended by experienced midwives and the birth is allowed to proceed at a pace which suits mother and baby.

Mothers also have the option of home birth with an attending midwife.

Birth Certificates and Registration

All births in Switzerland are recorded in the birth register. The registrar also creates a new record for adopted children.

Births need to be registered within three days at the registry office of the district (commune) where the birth took place. This can be done by the hospital but if the birth took place in another canton or if it was a home birth, it will need to be done by the father, the midwife, doctor, mother or any other person who was present at the birth.

If the father is not married to the mother he can register the birth only if he has acknowledged paternity before the birth or if he does so at the same time as he registers the birth.

Swiss citizenship

Swiss citizenship is automatically granted only to the natural or adopted child of a married Swiss national (only one parent need be Swiss). Citizenship is also granted to the baby of an unmarried Swiss mother. Babies born in Switzerland to foreign nationals are not automatically granted Swiss citizenship.

For further information from the Swiss government: Click here

Required Documents for Birth Registration

Married parents:

Family register (livret de famille) or marriage certificate
Passports of both parents
Residence permits
Fee
Residents of Geneva will need a certificat de domicile, issued by the Office Cantonale de la Population (OCP)
A form filled in at the Civil Registrar's Office (Office de l'État Civil)

Unmarried parents:

The birth registration process varies from case to case. The registry office in the district where the child is born will provide information.

In most cases the following documents will be needed:

Mother's birth certificate
A document showing the mother's civil status, for example an individual certificate of civil status, a divorce decree or the death certificate of a husband if he died in Switzerland
A certificate of domicile
Passport
Residence permit

Administrative offices

Geneva Civil Registrar's Office
At: 37 rue de la Mairie, 1211 Geneva
Tel. +41 (0)22 418 66 50
Fax +41 (0)22 418 66 51
Open: Monday to Friday 08:30 to 11:45 and 13:00 to 16:00
e-mail
Website
Geneva OCP
At: 88 route de Chancy, 1213 Onex
Open: Monday to Friday 09:00 to 15:30
Tel: +41 (0)22 546 48 88
Fax: +41 (0)22 546 48 10

Unmarried Parents: Acknowledgement of Paternity

If the mother is unmarried at the time of birth, the father must expressly acknowledge the child.

This has to be done at the registry office either of the place of the child's birth or at the place of domicile of the father or mother. This is then recorded in the acknowledgement of paternity register.

Fathers of foreign nationality wishing to acknowledge their child, must contact their local registry office as the documents required may vary from canton to canton.

Once the paternity is registered the child does not automatically gain the citizenship or name of the father although the child will benefit from a simplified naturalisation procedure.

The father does not have parental authority; this falls exclusively to the mother, although in some cases joint parental authority may be granted.

Child's Name

Parents may choose any first name that they wish as long at is not likely to damage the interests of the child.

Surname

If the parents are married, the child will bear the parents' surname or the surname that the parents use. (In Switzerland, this is usually the father's as a couple may not have different names. Women may hyphenate their maiden name with their husband's while special authorisation is needed for the couple to only use the wife's name.)

If the parents are not married, the child will bear the name of the mother. If the child's parents then get married, the child will bear the name of the parents.

In the case of an adoption, the child will bear the surname of the adopting parents.

Obtaining a Birth Certificate

A copy of a birth certificate can be requested by fax, post or e-mail (or in person) at the registry office in the place of birth;

Proof of identity or the family record book (livret de famille) will need to be presented.

Geneva Civil Registrar's Office
At: 37 rue de la Mairie, 1211 Geneva
Tel. +41 (0)22 418 66 50
Fax +41 (0)22 418 66 51
Open: Monday to Friday 08:30 to 11:45 and 13:00 to 16:00
e-mail
Website

Vaccinations

Vaccination policy is decided at a cantonal level in Switzerland. Each individual canton determines which vaccinations are obligatory and some give them free of charge.

The only obligatory vaccination in Geneva is against Diphtheria (vaccine anti diphtérique) while in the cantons of Vaud, Neuchâtel and Valais there are no obligatory vaccinations.

However, most doctors do recommend the combined vaccinations for Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio, Whooping cough (coqueluche) and Haemophilus influenza.

Further information

Information on Swiss citizenship from the Swiss government: Click here
Geneva Family Planning Centre
At: 47 Boulevard de la Cluse, 1205 Geneva
Tel: +41 (0)22 372 55 00
Fax: +41 (0)22 372 53 15

The Association de parents de jumeaux, triplés et plus, an association for parents of multiple births (twins, triplets etc.) provides assistance for parents of premature children