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Current AffairsPrague court delivers landmark ruling in home births advocates’ battle with the state
A ruling on Thursday by a Prague court might lead to a breakthrough in the
ongoing Czech debate about home births. While state officials and health
care providers have consistently opposed the practice over safety concerns,
the court decided that mothers indeed have the right to choose the place of
their child’s delivery, and the state has to provide all necessary
assistance. More
Current AffairsHome births under fire as court case highlights family tragedy
The issue of giving birth at home once again came to the fore this week
after the country's most senior midwife was found guilty of criminal
negligence after overseeing a botched home birth in Prague. A baby boy was
left severely brain damaged after being deprived of oxygen, and later died.
The midwife denies any wrongdoing, and says the complications were
unforeseen and unavoidable. More
Current AffairsHome births on trial after boy left with brain damage in botched delivery
Home births are currently under the spotlight in the Czech Republic; a
trial began in Prague last week involving the chairwoman of the country’s
Union of Midwives. Ivana Königsmarková, one of the very few Czech midwives
qualified to deliver babies at home, faces up to four years in prison after
overseeing a botched delivery that left a baby boy severely brain damaged.
She denies any wrongdoing. More
Talking PointCzech mothers want greater say when it comes to childbirth
The Czech Republic boasts one of the lowest rates of prenatal and natal
mortalities in the world, yet paradoxically, criticism of Czech maternity
hospitals is growing. Mothers complain that doctors regard childbirth as a
strictly medical procedure, forgetting that it is first and foremost a
natural process and as such should be directed by the mothers themselves.
Some mothers who have previously given birth at maternity hospitals are so
dissatisfied with the experience that they opt to bring their second child
into the world at home with the help of a certified midwife.
More
One on OneZuzana Stromerova - a champion of natural childbirth
Radio Prague's guest this week is Zuzana Stromerova, one of the country's
few private midwives. A champion of natural childbirths, Zuzana Stromerova
has been trying to convince the authorities for years that women should be
given a choice as to where and how they want to give birth to their
children. She is also behind the project of the Czech Republic's first
birth centre which is meant to provide a home-like alternative to
maternity hospitals. But although the Prague birth centre is ready to
welcome women who are about to give birth, the establishment is actually
not allowed to perform deliveries.
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