Thank you, midwife: notes for the card, from the delivery room to the last home visit
You picture a midwife in the delivery room. Swiss statistics show how big her second workplace is: in 2024, independent midwives attended 5,405 births but cared for 78,164 women at home after birth, almost as many as there were babies born. How often she comes varies strongly by canton, even though the same rules apply everywhere. That is what the ConvivaPlus Postnatal Visit Comparison shows for all 26 cantons. Plus 40+ ready-to-copy thank-you notes for your midwife, sorted by occasion and tone.
🤱 Midwife postnatal care: what Swiss basic insurance covers
In 2024, independent midwives in Switzerland attended 5,405 births but cared for 78,164 women at home after birth. Most births are attended by midwives employed in hospital, who don’t appear in these statistics. So many families have two midwives: the one in the delivery room and the one who rings the doorbell afterwards. At most around 7 percent of births can have had the same independent midwife.
After a hospital birth, women stay 3.9 days on average. From then until day 56, the midwife takes over at home, and basic insurance sets out exactly how often. In 2024 the first visit happened one to four days after birth for 55.1 percent of women.
| Service | What Swiss basic health insurance covers |
|---|---|
| Home visits for a first baby, after a Caesarean, a premature or multiple birth | up to 16, plus up to five second visits on the same day |
| Home visits in all other cases | up to 10, plus up to five second visits on the same day in the first 10 days |
| Visits after day 56 | only if prescribed by a doctor |
| Breastfeeding support | three sessions, with a midwife, a midwifery organisation or a nurse trained in breastfeeding support |
| Cost-sharing | none on midwifery services, including visits prescribed after day 56. In addition, from week 13 of pregnancy until eight weeks after birth, general illness-related services are exempt too |
Source: Federal Office of Public Health, maternity benefits (German), based on the Health Insurance Act and its ordinances; paraphrased here, as no official English version exists. Checked on 17.09.2026. Care figures come from the 2024 statistical report on outpatient midwifery services by ZHAW for the Swiss Federation of Midwives.
📝 Thank you midwife message: by occasion and tone
Because most families mainly see their midwife in the weeks after birth, the generator doesn’t sort by «before» and «after», but by what she actually did: the weeks at home, the birth itself, breastfeeding support, a difficult start, the hospital team or baby number two.
Pick the occasion, then the tone. Enter the midwife’s name and your signature at the top and the generator fills the gaps. «Next» shows more variations.
🧰 Thank-you generator: recipient → tone → ready-made note
ConvivaPlus.chChoose recipient, occasion and tone, then copy the note or print it as a PDF. Swiss German templates with dialect region.
The last home visit: the scales go back in the bag and suddenly someone will be missing. This is where the card fits.
✨ Short midwife quotes: for a card or WhatsApp
The shortest thank-you to a midwife carries two numbers only you share: the weight at the first visit and at the last. She wrote both down herself. One sentence with those two numbers tells her more than any poem.
- 📱 Right after the last visit
«Today was the last visit and it feels strange without you. Thank you for everything, … 🤍»
- 📱 With the weight
«From … grams to … grams, with you by our side. Thank you, dear …! 🤱»
- 📱 For the hospital card
«Thank you for bringing … safely to us. We will never forget that night. 👶»
- 📱 By WhatsApp the next day
«We’re home and everyone is (almost) asleep. Thank you for yesterday, …! 💛»
- 📱 One line that says it all
«You were there when we didn’t know what to do next. That stays with us. Thank you, … 💛»
- 📱 For the midnight message
«Thank you for replying at midnight. Everything is fine today. 🌙»
- 📱 Short and well fed
«He’s feeding! Thanks for your tips, … 🍼»
- 📱 After the third session
«Third appointment, first night with four hours’ sleep in a row. Thank you, dear …! 🙏»
In 2024, 44 percent of women in Geneva had a second midwife visit on the same day, against 5 percent in Ticino (ConvivaPlus Postnatal Visit Comparison, calculated from the ZHAW midwifery statistics).
🎁 Midwife gift: what fits and what to know in Switzerland
For teachers, all six cantons whose rules we read ban gifts with exceptions, and two name an amount: Bern CHF 200, Basel-Stadt CHF 50, as the Gift Limit Check shows. For the midwife who visits you at home, we know of no such limit: independent midwives are self-employed and bill basic insurance, so no cantonal public-staff law applies to them. We found no rule on gifts from the Swiss Federation of Midwives.
It is different for a hospital midwife: she is usually an employee, and her employer’s rules apply, which we have not reviewed. Attending midwives (Beleghebammen) work self-employed even in hospital. For a ward, a gift for the whole team is the safe choice.
- For your home midwife: something for the break between two visits, coffee, chocolate, something you baked.
- A photo of your baby with a few lines. It tells her how the story she was part of continues.
- Recommending her to pregnant friends. For a self-employed midwife, that kind of recognition lasts beyond the card.
- For the hospital or birth centre: chocolate or coffee for the staff room, so every shift gets some.
📊 Midwife visits by canton: the ConvivaPlus Postnatal Visit Comparison
The same rules for midwife visits apply everywhere in Switzerland: up to 10 or 16. Yet the midwife comes 5.4 times on average in Ticino and 8.9 times in Basel-Stadt. Second visits on the same day are even further apart: in Geneva 44 percent of women had at least one, in Ticino 5 percent.
The ConvivaPlus Postnatal Visit Comparison puts the cantonal tables of the 2024 national statistics side by side and calculates the share of second visits itself, which the report doesn’t give by canton. The Swiss average is 7.3 visits and 21.9 percent of women with a second visit. Why the cantons differ so much, the statistics don’t say: the share of first-time mothers or Caesareans by canton isn’t published, so we don’t claim a cause.
| Canton | Women with a postnatal visit | Average visits per woman | with a second same-day visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glarus | 335 | 10.8 | 30% |
| Basel-Stadt | 1,672 | 8.9 | 20% |
| Basel-Landschaft | 2,182 | 8.5 | 22% |
| Bern | 8,039 | 8.1 | 28% |
| Uri | 370 | 8.1 | 12% |
| Neuchâtel | 1,518 | 8.0 | 22% |
| Schaffhausen | 541 | 7.9 | 12% |
| Solothurn | 2,268 | 7.7 | 23% |
| Fribourg | 3,365 | 7.6 | 28% |
| Zurich | 13,039 | 7.5 | 18% |
| St. Gallen | 4,180 | 7.4 | 20% |
| Schwyz | 1,274 | 7.4 | 18% |
| Thurgau | 2,439 | 7.2 | 14% |
| Graubünden | 1,233 | 7.2 | 17% |
| Obwalden | 505 | 7.2 | 10% |
| Appenzell Outer Rhodes | 438 | 7.2 | 22% |
| Lucerne | 3,402 | 7.1 | 22% |
| Zug | 1,081 | 7.1 | 10% |
| Geneva | 5,050 | 6.9 | 44% |
| Vaud | 7,612 | 6.8 | 23% |
| Aargau | 4,795 | 6.7 | 15% |
| Nidwalden | 340 | 6.3 | 7% |
| Appenzell Inner Rhodes | 156 | 6.2 | 30% |
| Jura | 536 | 5.9 | 32% |
| Valais | 2,861 | 5.5 | 15% |
| Ticino | 2,300 | 5.4 | 5% |
ConvivaPlus Postnatal Visit Comparison, as of 17.09.2026. Data: ZHAW, detailed statistical report on outpatient midwifery services in Switzerland, 2024 survey, tables 10 and 12, service «postnatal care visit». The «second same-day visit» column is ConvivaPlus’s own calculation: women with a second same-day visit divided by women with a postnatal visit (table 10). It counts midwives working under their own professional responsibility, not visits by hospital midwives during a stay. The report itself notes that averages in small cantons are strongly affected by outliers: Glarus tops the list with 335 women, which is why it is left out of the chart.
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🇨🇭 Swiss German: thank your midwife in dialect
A card in Swiss German isn’t a given: 32.8 percent of the women cared for by an independent midwife in 2024 were foreign nationals, and many midwives aren’t Swiss German speakers themselves. If your midwife speaks dialect, a card in it will surprise her. If she’s from Romandy or Germany, the English or German note is the better choice.
These notes are deliberately left in dialect, with the region marked. Swiss German has no official spelling, so feel free to adjust it, or ask a local friend to read it first.
- 🇨🇭 Zürideutsch: die erschte Wuche · ZH
«Liebi … Merci vilmal für die erschte Wuche. Ohni dich hettemer die Nächt nöd so guet überstande, und dank dir hämmer d Waag nümme gfürchtet. Herzlich, … und …»
- 🇨🇭 Bärndütsch: so viu Sicherheit · BE
«Liebi … Merci viumau, dass du i dene erschte Wuche für üs da gsi bisch. Du hesch üs so viu Sicherheit ggä, grad denn, wo mer se am nötigschte hei bruucht. … u …»
- 🇨🇭 Baseldytsch: die Nacht · BS
«Liebi … Merci vylmol fir die Nacht. Du bisch ruehig blybe, wo mir zwai s nimm gsi sin, und am Morge isch … do gsi. Herzlig, …»
- 🇨🇭 Sanggallerdütsch: guet ufghobe · SG
«Liebi … Merci vilmol för dini Hilf bi de Geburt. Mer händ üs bi dir vo Aafang aa guet ufghobe gfüehlt, au denn, wos lang gange isch. … und …»
- 🇨🇭 Zürideutsch: nöd elei · ZH
«Liebi … D Ziit nach de Geburt isch für üs nöd eifach gsi. Dass du so oft verbiicho bisch und nie gseit häsch, mir mached öppis falsch, hät üs meh ghulfe, als mir säge chönd. Merci! …»
- 🇨🇭 Lozärnerdütsch: ufgfange · LU
«Liebi … Ohni dech wäred mer i dene Wuche mängisch rächt ufgschmesse gsi. Merci vo Härze, dass du üs ufgfange hesch. Herzlech, …»
- 🇨🇭 Bärndütsch: äntlech klappts · BE
«Liebi … Merci viumau für dini Stillberatig. Mit dine Tipps hets äntlech klappet, u mir si aui drü viu besser zwäg. …»
- 🇨🇭 Sanggallerdütsch: kän Druck meh · SG
«Liebi … Merci vilmol, dass du üs de Druck ggnoo häsch. Sit dinere Beratig gohts vill ringer, för s Chind und för üs. …»
- 🇨🇭 Baseldytsch: an s ganze Team · BS
«Liebs Team Merci vylmol an alli, wo in dene Dääg fir uns do gsi sin, am Daag und in dr Nacht. Mir hän uns bi eich guet ufghobe gfiehlt. Familie …»
- 🇨🇭 Lozärnerdütsch: Merci a alli · LU
«Liebs Team Merci vell mol a alli, wo üs i dene Täg begleitet händ. Mer sind met eme guete Gfüehl hei. Familie …»
- 🇨🇭 Zürideutsch: s zweit Mal · ZH
«Liebi … S zweit Mal isch vill ringer gsi, au will mir gwüsst händ, dass du chunnsch. Merci, dass du wieder für üs da gsi bisch! …, …, … und …»
- 🇨🇭 Bärndütsch: zwöimau Merci · BE
«Liebi … Zwöi Ching, zwöimau du, u beidi Mau hesch üs so guet begleitet. Merci viumau, das vergässe mer nid. …»
💛 Difficult start: thanks after a Caesarean or premature birth
For Swiss basic insurance, a first baby isn’t a standard case: first-time mothers, like women after a Caesarean, a premature or multiple birth, can have up to 16 home visits instead of 10. And the first weeks are difficult more often than many think: in 2024 midwives recorded maternal health problems for 47.6 percent of the women they cared for, and problems with the baby in 31.6 percent.
If the midwife was there through that, the card should say what she concretely did: the midnight reply, the sentence that took the pressure off, the referral to the right place. If family or friends helped too, you’ll find wording in our thank-you letters for support.
- 💗 After the Caesarean
«Dear … I had pictured the birth differently, and in the first days afterwards it weighed on me more than I wanted to admit. You listened instead of reassuring me. That is exactly what helped. Thank you. …»
- 💗 Arrived too early
«Dear … … came five weeks early and weighed so little we hardly dared pick her up. You showed us how, and celebrated every gram with us. Today she feeds like a champion, and we know who drew the first dot on her growth chart. Thank you. …»
- 🎩 Thanks for the close follow-up
«Dear Ms …, The first weeks with our twins were more demanding than we had expected. We particularly thank you for your close follow-up, your clear advice and your coordination with the paediatrician. Kind regards …»
- 🎩 When the mother wasn’t well
«Dear Ms …, You noticed early that my wife was not doing well after the birth and put us in touch with the right support straight away. We are deeply grateful. She is well again today. With heartfelt thanks …»
- 😄 Feeding-log diploma
«Dear … We hereby award you the diploma for «Most Patient Reader of a Feeding Log». Our chart had three colours, two handwritings and no logic left at 4 a.m. You understood it anyway. Thank you! The … family»
- 📱 One line that says it all
«You were there when we didn’t know what to do next. That stays with us. Thank you, … 💛»
🏥 Thank you maternity team: a card for the hospital or birth centre
In hospital, a family doesn’t have one midwife but a whole ward: over an average stay of 3.9 days, day and night shifts change several times. Thanking only the midwife at the birth forgets the person who showed you nappy changing at 3 a.m. So the card goes to the whole team, and you name anyone you want to single out.
- 💗 To every shift
«Dear team at … In four days we met so many of you: the midwife on the night of the birth, the nurse with the warm towels, the person who dimmed the light at three in the morning. Thank you all, including those whose names we never learned. The … family with …»
- 💗 To the birth centre
«Dear birth centre team You were with us from the first meeting to the last postnatal visit. That we never once felt like a number is thanks to all of you. Thank you for this special time. …, … and …»
- 🎩 To the ward management
«Dear Sir or Madam, We would like to let you know how well cared for we felt during the birth and the postnatal stay on your ward. We would especially like to mention Ms …, whose calm support helped us greatly. Please pass our thanks on to the whole team. Kind regards …»
- 🎩 With the birth announcement
«Dear maternity team Enclosed is our birth announcement, so you can see how much … has grown. You were there at the very start of her life, and we thank you warmly for it. Best regards The … family»
- 😄 Chocolate for the staff room
«Dear team This chocolate is for the night shift. Please share fairly, including with whoever explained to us at 4 a.m. that newborns just breathe like that. Thank you for everything! … (now nappy-changing pros)»
- 📱 For the notice board
«Thank you, day shift and night shift: you made …’s first hours gentle. 🏥💛»
✍️ Midwife card: how to write it in four steps
The card for your midwife has a natural moment: the last home visit. After that you usually don’t meet again, and the scales leave your home for the last time. To make it personal:
- One moment from the first weeks: the first bath, the call about hiccups, the day feeding finally worked.
- What she concretely did: not «for everything», but the sentence that helped or the question she took seriously.
- Introduce the baby: name, today’s weight, what they can do now. Midwives rarely find out how things turn out.
- The signature: from everyone, baby included, for example with a footprint. And if you don’t manage it at the last visit: a card with a photo a few months later often means even more.
❓ Questions about thanking your midwife
Card, gift, home visits: the most common questions about thanking a midwife in Switzerland.
People also ask
Related questions from our magazine
With a few personal lines, often sent with the birth announcement. Templates are in our collection for thanking someone for a gift.
Thank you for a gift →Teachers are usually under a gift ban with exceptions. Of six cantons checked, only Bern (CHF 200) and Basel-Stadt (CHF 50) name an amount. All sources are in the Gift Limit Check.
Thank you, teacher →From invitations to weddings to bereavement: the overview lists every collection by occasion and recipient.
All thank-you templates →Our verdict: the thank-you belongs in the living room
Many families have two midwives: one in the delivery room and one who comes home afterwards. The card for the second works best when it names a moment from the living room and shows how the baby is doing today. And how often she came varies by canton more than the uniform insurance rules would suggest.
Thanking other people
More collections from the ConvivaPlus thank-you templates
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In 2024, 44 percent of women in Geneva had a second midwife visit on the same day, against 5 percent in Ticino, under the same insurance rules. That is what the ConvivaPlus Postnatal Visit Comparison shows, calculated from the national midwifery statistics.
Discussion
8 voices from the community
Unsere Hebamme kam diesen Sommer zehnmal, und ich wusste nicht einmal, dass beim ersten Kind bis zu 16 Besuche möglich gewesen wären. Die Tabelle hätte ich in der zweiten Woche gebraucht.
Danke, Nadine! Wichtig dazu: 16 ist eine Höchstzahl, kein fixes Kontingent. Wie viele Besuche es braucht, entscheidet ihr zusammen mit der Hebamme. Die ConvivaPlus-Redaktion
Intéressant, le comparatif. Pour notre premier, la sage-femme est venue presque tous les jours la première semaine, puis plus du tout. La moyenne vaudoise ne dit pas grand-chose sur le rythme.
Als Hebamme freut mich am meisten eine Karte, die ein paar Monate später kommt, mit einem Foto. Beim letzten Besuch ist oft so viel los, dass man sie kaum richtig liest.
Merci für den Blick von der anderen Seite, Barbara! Darum steht bei den Schritten, das Kind vorzustellen. Eine zweite Karte mit Foto ein paar Monate später geben wir als Tipp gern weiter.
Da noi l’ostetrica è venuta cinque volte e ci è bastato, ma leggere che a Basilea sono quasi nove fa pensare. Il biglietto per lei l’abbiamo fatto con le impronte dei piedini.
Mir händ bim zwöite Chind wieder die glich Hebamme. D Vorlag mit de grosse Schwöschter passt grad perfekt, die schriibed mer jetzt ab.
Gut zu wissen, dass für selbständige Hebammen keine gesetzliche Geschenkgrenze bekannt ist. Bei der Lehrerin meiner Grossen war das im Elternchat ein ewiges Thema.
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