When my partner and I were told almost two years ago that we would not be able to conceive a baby naturally, we immediately thought of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment.

Due to the great demand, I had to wait a few long months before getting an appointment in a specialised fertility centre in Zurich recommended by my gynecologist. After two months of a relatively heavy treatment with hormone pills and daily injections in the belly, the pregnancy test turned out to be positive; I was expecting a baby! Since the success rate of IVF is around 35 percent, we were extremely lucky that it worked the first time. Indeed, we had heard of so many couples trying the in vitro procedure again and again, repeating the hormone injection therapy with all the side-effects up to three, four and five times without results.

The treatment has one negative part: in Switzerland, as in some other European countries, it is illegal to check whether the embryo is genetically healthy before implantation, although it is technically possible. As a consequence, women take the test for Down’s syndrome in the third month of pregnancy, with the risk of having to abort if the forthcoming child suffers from trisomy.

While I was in my seventh month of pregnancy, we moved to a bigger home to welcome the baby. I advise readers of this article to avoid moving while pregnant, at least in the last trimester!

The stress of moving culminates with setting up the baby room and acquiring all the necessary baby stuff (for a buggy alone, you need to consider the following options: country or city style, manual or foot brakes, three or four wheels, etc). As an apprentice-parent, you do not know yet what you need and the offerings and price range in the specialised stores are huge. You will spend a lot of time on the phone with friends or on the internet gathering information on what, where and how much you have to buy. A good Swiss pregnancy webpage is www.swissmom.ch (in German).

The clinic an expectant mother will use is determined by the type of medical insurance she has. A woman with public insurance must go to a public hospital, where she will share a room with other mothers and be attended by the gynecologist’s assistants rather than the doctor. An expectant mother with half-private or private insurance can use a private clinic where she will have her own room (or share with just one other woman) and be attended by the gynecologist. A mother who wants to use her usual gynecologist will need to go to his/her clinic. I went to the Klinik im Park because my gynecologist operates there.

Switzerland has an excellent offering of birth preparation trainings. Normally the clinic where you will deliver the baby gives classes including specialised gym and yoga and information sessions on the differences between natural and caesarian delivery. We went for a “baby weekend” from the Hirslanden clinic, where you get tips and practical information about pregnancy and newborn children. Some of these services are even covered by Swiss medical insurance, but you should consult with your Krankenkasse beforehand.

After delivery, insurance grants a few home visits from a midwife of your choice. Switzerland also offers an excellent service called Mütter- und VäterBeratung to assist inexperienced parents during the first two years. I found this service useful for answering my questions about breast feeding and milk pumping after I’d left the clinic.

Another difficult experience was the search for a nanny. I founded my own company two years ago and wanted to continue this activity. I needed some support to take care of the little one while returning to work, and explored different options and contacted many agencies. Unfortunately the number of nurseries in Switzerland is limited, making it necessary to book a place in a crèche up to two years beforehand. As the crèche is private, it can also be very expensive. In addition, not many nurseries accept babies as young as one month old. The nanny alternative seemed to be a better choice until I realised how expensive and difficult it is to find a professional nanny with a flexible schedule. We finally decided to hire a Filipina au pair and had an agency take over the whole visa procedure. The most important aspect is to follow every single law of your canton.

Recently I got the incredibly sad news that a friend of mine lost her five-month-old baby girl by sudden death. I was deeply shocked by this tragedy. It reminds me that a child is a gift that can be taken away any minute. We are so lucky that the delivery went well and that our little daughter is healthy.

Text: Claudia Villa / Expatica 2009

Claudia Villa is a professional business coach. She can be contacted at claudia.villa@visionexecutive.ch