1. Geburt 3000 – Giving Birth in the 3rd Millennium
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Geburt 3000 – Giving Birth in the 3rd Millennium

The aim of the Geburt 3000 project is to transform maternity care and to strengthen autonomous, midwife-led maternity care.

Factsheet

Situation

Cooperation rather than competition, salutogenic architecture and long-term scientific validation – these are the objectives of the ‘Geburt 3000’ pilot project, supported by the BFH. In strategic partnership with a partner hospital, the project is designing and implementing a contemporary version of the traditional birthing centre, featuring a holistic approach to autonomous, midwife-led care outside a hospital setting. In doing so, midwifery is considered in all its diversity: from the care of women in labour, through the scientifically sound and validated training and further education of midwives, to the ‘healing architecture’ of the planned birth pavilions.

Result

The Geburt 3000 project was successfully completed in its development phase. Over approximately 21 months of development and establishment, the vision of transforming out-of-hospital maternity care in Switzerland was conceptualized and translated into three central fields of action: operations, architecture, and education and research. In the field of operations, a strategic alliance between the Geburtshaus Zürcher Oberland and Spital Uster was negotiated and contractually secured for the construction of a new birth pavilion on the hospital campus in Uster. The involved teams are currently working on the development of joint operational structures and an integrative midwifery care philosophy. Within the field of architecture, an innovative concept based on the principles of healing architecture was developed in collaboration with an architectural team for the Uster site. This concept forms the basis for the submitted building application and the planned construction phase starting in summer 2026. In the area of education and research, several key foundations were established: first, an evaluation framework for data-based quality assurance in future facilities; second, a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) programme in “Midwife-led Care”, which will be offered for the first time at Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) starting in September 2026; and third, the translation of the English-language Midwifery Unit Standards (MUNET Standards) for the German-speaking context.

Looking ahead

Since 1 January 2026, the Geburt 3000 foundation has been operating independently. Its mission is to sustainably strengthen out-of-hospital maternity care in Switzerland through strategic alliances with hospitals. In this context, the foundation finances future birth pavilions in accordance with the defined Geburt 3000 criteria. Further information and current activities are available at www.geburt3000.ch.

Contact

Prof. Dr. Eva Cignacco Müller

  • Dozentin
  • +41 31 848 45 18
  • Show e-mail

This project contributes to the following SDGs

  • 3: Good health and well-being

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