If you speak English, live in the Nyon area and you’re pregnant or have just had a baby, then you should know that there is a qualified and fully registered English midwife working on your door step!
Since she started her practice in January last year, Louise Colassis has looked after more than 120 women, and the numbers keep growing! There is clearly a huge demand for high quality community midwifery services in the region, especially when they are provided in English.
Louise told knowitall.ch, “At the moment, I am one of only two English midwives in the Nyon district, so I try, with my colleague, to cover the needs of the English-speaking women in the area - not only English as a mother tongue, but as a second, or family language, for women who don't speak French. I offer pre- and post-natal care for women, including preparation courses for groups, or private one-on-one courses in the patient’s home.”
She added, “I also look after French-speaking patients too, but since French speakers have the opportunity to do group courses here, I only offer private courses in French for them. The English speakers would have to travel to Geneva to do group courses if we didn't offer them in this area. Morges doesn't offer English preparation courses either.
Louise trained as a nurse and community midwife in the UK and has been qualified since 1984. She came to Switzerland in 1987 with the idea of becoming a community midwife. Community midwives were few and far between in the '80's so she worked in a clinic in Lausanne before working for 3 years with the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross). After having her own children she went back to work at Nyon hospital before finally deciding to do what she always wanted: community midwifery. She started her own practice in January 2015.
Louise offers both group and individual “preparation for birth” courses, which cost between Fr. 200.- and Fr. 400.- per couple. Her courses cover: pregnancy; labour and the signs it’s starting; positions, pain relief and delivery; after-care in hospital; feeding; and going home with a newborn. Louise can also arrange a visit to Nyon hospital for those who wish to have their babies delivered there. She can also offer ante-natal care at home for those mothers who wish to avoid a hospital stay, providing they have a prescription.
Once the baby has arrived, Louise will also: make post-natal visits after an early return to home or after a longer stay in hospital; offer advice to help parents to look after their newborn baby, including sleeping, bathing and soothing; and provide breast or bottle feeding help and advice.
All of the care provided by Louise is covered by Swiss and international health insurance companies. There are significant reimbursements for her birth preparation courses (typically Fr. 150.-), and there is 100% reimbursement on both ante- and post-natal care covered by a doctor’s prescription, e.g. ante-natal care for difficult/at risk pregnancies, and post-natal care from the day patients go home and up to 56 days after delivery. You can see more information about this and the full range of Louise’s services on her website, www.bumpsandbabies.ch.
One client, who saw Louise recently, told knowitall.ch,
"Louise was my midwife when my daughter was born last year and she was invaluable in providing not only practical/physical support following the birth but also emotional support which was invaluable given my situation. I had recently joined my husband in Geneva as he had relocated some months earlier due to his work and I found the whole experience quite daunting. I had only been in Switzerland a few weeks when I gave birth so had no support network around me.”
She continued, “Not only did Louise provide practical advice for my physical recovery and the care of my new baby but she was also concerned for my mental wellbeing and spotted very quickly that I was lonely and struggling to cope without any friends and family around me. She introduced me to other local new mothers she was also supporting at the time which was critical to my recovery. Louise took the time to get to know me as a person not just a new mum and I will always be grateful she spotted I was struggling emotionally and that she provided the support I needed at a difficult time that allowed me to recover and start enjoying being a new mum again. I would highly recommend her!”
Louise's next group courses will being in April/May 2016. You are advised to check back regularly to Louise's website for further information, or keep an eye out on the knowitall.ch website; we will post details on our Activities Calendar for Adults as soon as we receive them.
Louise Colassis
Infirmière/Sage-femme.
Registered nurse/Midwife.
Ch des Sureaux 8
1261 Le Vaud.
078 652 44 97
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.bumpsandbabies.ch
