BACKGROUND:
Migration and motherhood are each transformative journeys, but for undocumented migrant mothers, the first 1,000 days—from conception through early infancy—can be marked by profound solitude and fragmented support.

OBJECTIVES:
This qualitative study explores how migrant mothers in Switzerland experience loneliness during this critical period.

METHODS:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 mothers across 10 Swiss cantons. Data analysis was performed drawing on Heidegger’s Being and Time and hermeneutic phenomenology.

RESULTS:
Although many participants expressed satisfaction with healthcare encounters, they also described deep emotional isolation, challenges navigating unfamiliar systems, and a lack of meaningful support networks. Loneliness emerged not only as a response to postpartum challenges but as a persistent, relational experience shaped by disrupted belonging. The findings highlight the need for more holistic, continuous models of care that attend to mothers’ social and emotional well-being alongside physical health. The choice of interviewed women to leave familiarity and pursue life in a foreign country comes with an incredible amount of uncertainty. Adding a baby to this already delicate situation creates a complex system of needs. Their system of needs is examined by using the duality of being and time, and separating the first 1000 days into two areas; migration and reproduction which was further separated into pregnancy and childbirth; and postpartum and early infancy.

CONCLUSIONS:
The finding reinforced the notion that while motherhood can be a lonely experience in and of itself, there are significant additional factors when understanding undocumented migrant mothers in Switzerland.

KEY MESSAGE:
While access to healthcare is essential for migrant wellbeing, it alone cannot address the loneliness that stems from a loss of belonging. Marginalized - refugees 1