How we work

Our approaches

Cooperation instead of competition

The challenge

For decades, models of care for hospital and out-of-hospital births have been conceived and developed separately in Switzerland and across the entire German-speaking region. The result: out-of-hospital births remain a niche, even though their woman-centred approach meets the individual needs of those giving birth.

Our approach

Modular healing architecture

The challenge

Newly built birth rooms are often only a small part of vast new-build projects within large hospital complexes. The needs of those giving birth are hardly taken into account. Often, long-established and industry-standard solutions are used, without incorporating new insights from “healing architecture” in the construction process.

Our approach

The alternative place of birth

The challenge

The competitive relationship between hospital-based and out-of-hospital maternity care often places expectant mothers in a dichotomous decision-making situation: either prioritising maximum perceived safety within an intervention-oriented obstetric setting, or opting for a childbirth process that emphasises naturalness, individualisation, and minimal intervention.
In Switzerland, access to birth centres is also geographically uneven, meaning that not all women can reach them within a reasonable timeframe; travel times of up to one hour are not uncommon. As a consequence, many women tend to choose the more proximate hospital setting. Furthermore, due to a range of structural, informational, and occasionally discriminatory factors, a significant number of pregnant individuals are insufficiently informed about out-of-hospital models of care, which limits their ability to consider or utilise such options.

Our approach

The proximity of the birth pavilion to the partner hospital meets women’s need for safety. Many women perceive hospitals as the place where, in the event of complications, they can receive the necessary medical care. At the same time, it improves access to birth centres—and ultimately enhances freedom of choice for many women in Switzerland. In addition, Geburt 3000 aims to develop a gender-, culture- and trauma-sensitive space for women and families.

Teaching and learning

The challenge

Compared with conventional hospital obstetrics, the evidence base on out-of-hospital births and the influence of space and architecture on birth is extremely limited. Out-of-hospital maternity care lacks a scientifically grounded basis for argumentation to help shape the discourse on developing, establishing and adapting future-proof models of care.

Our approach

Geburt 3000 works closely with universities to evaluate and validate what has been learned. From the outset, we place great importance on quality assurance and create a scientific foundation for future projects and research. At the same time, the development of a CAS “Midwife-led maternity care” promotes and strengthens the professional expertise of qualified midwives.

Attractive for professionals

The challenge

Rising burnout rates, the incompatibility of work and family life, and a lack of continuing education prospects are contributing to the current severe shortage of skilled professionals in the midwifery profession. In addition, out-of-hospital and hospital midwifery teams have had little contact to date, further reinforcing competitive thinking among midwives.

Our approach

Geburt 3000 takes a holistic approach to contemporary maternity care, in which midwives’ working conditions play an important role. Our midwifery teams work across generations, with flat hierarchies and autonomously. Lifelong learning and close collaboration with hospital teams are core components of our operating model.

Our standards

The “European Standards for Midwife-Led Maternity Care (HGGH)”, or in English “Midwifery Unit Network Standards”, were translated into German by Geburt 3000 in collaboration with the Swiss Birth Centres Interest Group and the German, Austrian and Swiss midwifery associations, and contextualised for the German-speaking region. These standards define the international quality benchmark for autonomous, midwife-led maternity care, which Geburt 3000 consistently follows.
All future Geburt 3000 birth centres will align their work with this foundation. Applying these standards creates transparency, comparability and a high level of professional quality, while also strengthening evidence-based, woman-centred maternity care in the German-speaking region.