Giving birth: what hospital, midwife and postnatal care cost and who pays

Birth and health insurance: who bears which costs

In basic health insurance, giving birth is one of the specific maternity benefits (Art. 29 para. 2 let. b of the Federal Health Insurance Act, KVG). Your insurer may not charge a deductible or a retention fee for it, whatever deductible and model you have (Art. 64 para. 7 KVG). Costs still arise, just not for you: the hospital or the midwife bills the insurer, and for a birth in hospital, the canton of residence pays the larger share.

The most important dividing line concerns the child: as long as the baby is healthy and stays in hospital with you, they are covered by your insurance (Art. 29 para. 2 let. d KVG). If the baby needs their own treatment, it is covered by their own basic health insurance. This is why the child must be insured from birth.

What a birth in hospital costs and how it is billed

For inpatient treatment in a hospital or birth centre, insurers and hospitals agree flat rates, usually case-based flat rates according to a uniform structure across Switzerland (Art. 49 para. 1 KVG). The amount depends on how the birth went, for example spontaneously or by caesarean section, and on the hospital’s tariff. The insurer and your canton of residence share this flat rate; the canton pays at least 55 % (Art. 49a para. 2ter KVG).

Two protective rules apply to you:

• Tariff protection. The flat rate covers all the hospital’s claims for benefits under basic health insurance (Art. 49 para. 5 KVG). The hospital may not charge you anything extra for them (Art. 44 para. 1 KVG).
• Copy of the invoice. If the hospital bills the insurer directly, it must send you a copy of the invoice without being asked (Art. 42 para. 3 KVG). Check the treatment date on it and that no co-payment has been charged.

What you pay yourself are services outside basic health insurance: a single or family room, overnight stays for your partner, comfort services. The hospital sets the prices; ask in writing before admission.

Step by step: before and after the birth

1. Choose where to give birth. You are free to choose among the hospitals and birth centres on the hospital list of your canton of residence or of the canton where they are located (Art. 41 para. 1bis and 1ter KVG). In a GP, HMO or telemedicine model, also read your insurer’s conditions.
2. Clarify the room. If you want a single or family room, ask about the price and whether your supplementary insurance pays. Basic health insurance only pays for the general ward.
3. Insure your child. You take out basic health insurance for your child no later than three months after the birth; it then applies retroactively from birth (Art. 3 para. 1 and Art. 5 para. 1 KVG). The article Insuring your baby shows how this works.
4. Arrange a midwife for the postnatal period. Basic health insurance pays for the home visits after the birth if the midwife is approved under the KVV.
5. Notify the insurer of the birth. Give the child’s name and date of birth to the insurer with which you have registered or want to register the child.
6. Check the invoices. Up to 56 days after the birth, no benefit under basic health insurance may trigger a deductible or retention fee (Art. 105 para. 3 of the Health Insurance Ordinance, KVV).
7. Attend the postnatal check-up. Basic health insurance pays for one check-up between the 6th and 10th week after the birth (Art. 13 let. e KLV).

Postnatal period: midwife, breastfeeding advice, check-up

After the birth, basic health insurance pays for further maternity benefits, all without co-payment:

During the home visits, the midwife helps with the care and feeding of the child and monitors the health of mother and child. Breastfeeding advice is separate and does not count towards the home visits.

What the child costs from birth

From birth, you pay a separate premium for the child. The benefits are the same with all insurers, but the premiums are not. Premiums 2026, child born in 2026, with accident cover, in each case region 1 of the municipality; source FOPH:

In Lugano, with a CHF 0 deductible, there are CHF 95.20 per month, or CHF 1,142.40 per year, between the cheapest and the most expensive offer for the same statutory benefits. The FOPH publishes the following year’s premiums at the end of September; until they are released, we calculate with the 2026 premiums.

Sample calculation: when the newborn needs treatment

Example with fictitious people. Aylin, 33, gives birth to her daughter Mila in a listed hospital in Bern. Mila then has to stay in neonatology for six days. Aylin registered Mila for basic health insurance before the birth. The costs of neonatology are assumed to be CHF 15,000; the deductible, retention fee and hospital contribution follow the law.

If Mila had not been insured at birth and the parents had missed the three-month deadline, basic health insurance would only have started on registration. The costs of neonatology would then not have been covered (Art. 5 para. 2 KVG). If the treatment is the result of a recognised congenital disorder, disability insurance covers the medical measures (Art. 13 of the Federal Act on Disability Insurance, IVG); the article Congenital disorders and disability insurance explains where the line is drawn.

Special cases

Caesarean section

A caesarean section is a delivery like any other, without co-payment. After a caesarean section, the midwife may make up to 16 instead of 10 home visits during the postnatal period (Art. 16 para. 1 let. c KLV).

Twins and multiple births

Each child needs their own basic health insurance. If several children in a family are insured with the same insurer, together they pay at most the deductible and the maximum retention fee of one adult (Art. 64 para. 4 KVG). After a multiple birth, up to 16 home visits by the midwife also apply.

Giving birth in another canton

If you give birth in a listed hospital in another canton without a medical reason, the insurer and the canton of residence pay at most the tariff that applies in your canton of residence (Art. 41 para. 1bis KVG). You or a supplementary insurance pay any difference. In an emergency, or if the necessary treatment is not offered in your canton of residence, this limit does not apply (Art. 41 para. 3 and 3bis KVG).

Stillbirth

A stillbirth after the 23rd week of pregnancy counts as a birth (Art. 105 para. 2 KVV). The mother is entitled to the postnatal benefits, and there is no co-payment for 56 days afterwards.

Supplementary hospital insurance

Depending on the contract, semi-private or private supplementary hospital insurance pays for a two-bed or single room and the free choice of doctor in hospital. Whether and from when it pays for a birth, for example after a waiting period, is set out in the general terms and conditions; what counts are the general terms and conditions and the information from your insurer. For the child, it is worth asking about supplementary insurance before the birth, because afterwards the insurer may ask health questions. The article Supplementary insurance for your child explains which components exist for children.

Common mistakes

• Registering the child only after several weeks without knowing the deadline. Basic health insurance only applies retroactively from birth if you register the child within three months.
• Taking a single room without knowing the price. Basic health insurance pays for the general ward. Ask about the price and cover before you sign.
• Not using all the midwife visits. 10 or 16 home visits within 56 days are insured without co-payment.
• Paying a co-payment during the postnatal period. Every benefit under basic health insurance is exempt until the 56th day after the birth. Complain about an incorrect statement.
• Not comparing premiums for the child. The parents’ insurer is not automatically the cheapest for the child.

What applies during pregnancy before the birth is explained in the article Pregnancy and health insurance. You compare the children’s premiums of all insurers in your municipality in the premium calculator; key figures and contact options for the insurers are in the health insurer profiles. All articles on family and children are in the Family and children section.