Nurturing maternal mental health

While nearly one in five women in Switzerland experiences mental health distress during pregnancy or after giving birth, many remain undiagnosed and untreated.

The impact on these women and their families can be profound - for example, mothers are more vulnerable to breastfeeding problems, substance abuse and even suicide, and during pregnancy they are at increased risk of preterm birth and fetal growth restriction.

The project aims to change this with a new, professional handbook to support the early detection and care of perinatal mental health disorders.

Planned for use across Swiss maternity clinics, the handbook will contain practical templates, professional requirements, and training materials. It builds on an Advanced Practice Midwife (APM) service* successfully established at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University Hospital Bern, providing early support to women with pre-existing mental health conditions or stress during pregnancy and around the time of birth. 

The goal is to improve the mental health of expectant and new mothers for the long term. The project launched in 2025; the handbook is expected during 2026.

Project partners

• Prof. Dr. med. Daniel Surbek, Acting Co-Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Professor and Head Obstetrics and Feto-Maternal Medicine, University Hospital Bern, is overall responsible for the project
  
  
• Lena Sutter, senior nursing and midwifery expert, is the project leader
  
  
• Gabriela König, midwifery expert, is responsible for the practical and scientific implementation

Background

‘In Switzerland, around 17% of women are affected by perinatal mental health disorders (PMDs) but the detection rate during obstetrical healthcare provision is very low (1-3%) and specialized services are limited.’ DOI: https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/189954 

The handbook is intended to enable other large Swiss maternity clinics to establish an APM-guided program in the field of perinatal mental health, thereby improving care for affected women and families during the peripartal period. Stabilizing mental health can give women a platform to develop more physical and emotional resources, which may also have a positive impact on breastfeeding success. The topic of breastfeeding is covered in this handbook as well.

Bern is a pioneer in this field. To promote early detection, optimize treatment for affected women, and thus minimize risks for mother, child, and family, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University Hospital Bern – in collaboration with the University Hospital of Psychiatry – developed, implemented and evaluated an interprofessional service with an Advanced Practice Midwife (APM) (Sutter et al., 2024). The program is interprofessional (Maternal Mental Health Team of the FKI) and aimed at women with a history of mental illness or psychosocial stress.

FLRF donated CHF 48,000 as an unrestricted grant to support the development of the handbook.

*An APM service is a specialized care model in which experienced midwives with a master’s degree and additional training work closely with doctors, psychologists, and other specialists to provide women with individualized and holistic support, especially in stressful situations.