Harriet Sage-Femme (midwife)

Woman, mother, and midwife.

I am passionate about pregnancy, birth, and women’s health, and I am dedicated to supporting women through pregnancy, birth, and the wider span of reproductive health. As a midwife, I see my role as both caregiver and advocate—respecting the choices of the women I accompany, while ensuring the safety, health, and wellbeing of both mother and baby.

I am a Swiss national with English and Dutch roots, and I have lived in several multicultural European cities, giving me the opportunity to connect with people from all over the world.

I am married and the mother of two young children, an experience that has deepened both my empathy and my commitment to family-centred care.

I am fluent in French and English, and my spoken German is at a B1 level.

My career path

After completing my Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology in Sion, I moved to Ireland to undertake a Ph.D., driven by a desire to broaden my horizons. This experience allowed me to grow personally and professionally, and helped me realise that I would flourish more fully in a career with a stronger social and human dimension. While completing my doctoral studies, I dedicated considerable time to exploring alternative career paths and soon discovered that midwifery was the perfect fit for me.

I chose to train in the UK rather than in Switzerland because of the unique characteristics of NHS midwifery education. My training offered the opportunity to work with women and families from diverse cultural backgrounds and to immerse myself in a system that promotes physiological pregnancy and birth. In England, midwives care for all women from early pregnancy until the mother and baby no longer require midwifery support, usually between 10 days and six weeks postpartum. When a woman is healthy and the pregnancy progresses normally, the midwife is the lead professional. As a student, this enabled me to develop autonomy, confidence, and collaborative skills within a multidisciplinary team. Pursuing a Master’s degree in Midwifery further strengthened my analytical and critical thinking abilities and deepened my knowledge in clinical research—competencies essential for the modern midwife in supporting women and their families. Alongside my studies, I also had the privilege of volunteering for several days in the refugee camps of the Jungle in Calais and Dunkirk.

After completing my training and graduating with distinction, I worked for two years at the Hôpital Riviera-Chablais. Following the birth of my first child, I joined the Haute École de Santé Vaud (HESAV) in Lausanne as a scientific collaborator, and later became deputy head of the Master’s midwifery programme at the Bern Fachhochschule, a role I held for 18 months.

After the birth of my second child, I realised that I needed to apply the very principles I advocate—finding a healthy balance between motherhood, personal identity, and professional fulfilment. As a result, while holding a mandate with HESAV as project lead on a systematic review, I now work as an independent midwife, caring for women and their families in the canton of Fribourg. This allows me to remain true to who I am, to do what I love, and to fully be a midwife.

My vision of midwifery care

The midwife is the woman’s advocate. In her care, a woman receives holistic, personalized support that is evidence-based and woman centered, based on her individual needs. In addition to monitoring the health of both mother and baby, the midwife also plays an important role in health promotion and education.