Birth

Gaetan Bally/Keystone

Any birth that takes place on Swiss soil must be reported to the authorities. The parents are entitled to time off work to care for their baby.

All births must be registered in the place of birth and recorded in a birth register within three days. This will happen automatically if the birth takes place in a hospital. 

If the child of a Swiss parent is born abroad and has another nationality, it is advisable to register the birth with the Swiss embassy or consulate in that country or with the civil registry office in the place of origin. If not, the child will lose their Swiss citizenship at the age of 22.

If the mother and father were married when the child was born, they are both recognised as the parents. If the mother was not married, the father can officially acknowledge paternity of the child before or after the birth.

Abortion

Abortion has been legal in Switzerland since 2002. Terminating a pregnancy is permitted during the 12 weeks following the first day of the last menstrual period. After this, abortion is still possible if there are medical indications that the physical and/or psychological health of the pregnant woman is in danger.

The abortion rate in Switzerland is low by international comparison and has remained stable over the past 20 years. In 2020, there were 6.9 abortions per 1,000 women.

Maternity and paternity leave

Women have been entitled to maternity leave since 2005. This lasts 14 weeks from the birth of the child, during which they are paid at 80% of their income. Some labour agreements and employers provide for longer leave. Mothers are forbidden from returning to work within eight weeks of giving birth, and they lose their benefits if they start working again before the 14 weeks are up.

Men have been entitled to paternity leave since 2021. They receive two weeks at 80% pay. Unlike maternity leave, paternity leave is flexible. Fathers may take it all in one go or in individual days, as long as they do so within six months of the birth of their child.

Raising a child

Family sizes tend to be small in Switzerland; the fertility rate is 1.52 children per woman, while the average age of a woman having her first child is 30.9.

Switzerland remains a relatively conservative country, with the mother tending to handle the majority of household and childcare responsibilities. Currently, six out of every ten working women have a part-time job, compared with only 1.8 out of ten men.

The flipside, however, is that part-time work often leads to precarious employment conditions and inadequate social security coverage. It can also hinder women’s professional development and career progression.

Childcare costs are very high in Switzerland. Nurseries rank among the most expensive in the world, according to an OECD study. The bill for three days of childcare a week can easily come to anything between CHF1,000 and CHF2,000 ($1,018 and $2,036) a month.

But it is not just childcare that is expensive. According to a study by the Zurich Cantonal Youth Office, the basic direct costs involved in raising a child range between CHF1,200 and CHF1,800 a month, depending on the child’s age. Considering that the median Swiss salary is CHF6,500 gross a month, then bringing up a child accounts for 18%-27% of one parent’s gross earnings.

For more information on birth and parenthood in Switzerland see:

• Maternity and Paternity External link
• ChildcareExternal link
• Legal and illegal abortion in the Criminal CodeExternal link
• Paternity leaveExternal link