Archive: Society | Family Family
Prague 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
Home births back in spotlight as group of pregnant women take their case to European Court of Human Rights
A woman's right to give birth at home is back in the spotlight in the Czech
Republic, as a group of pregnant women intend to file a complaint at the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The Czech state makes planned
home births virtually impossible; there are midwives qualified to deliver
babies at home, but they lack official registration and insurance companies
won't cover them. More
Parents of “wolf children” on trial at Prague city court for child neglect
The mother and father of two boys, dubbed “wolf children” by the Czech
media, are currently on trial at a Prague city court. In a shocking and
unusual case of child abuse, the parents never let their sons out of the
apartment, did not dress them and fed them only liquid food. They deny
charges of abuse and say they simply wanted to raise their children in an
alternative way. More
Panorama
In Panorama this week: mistletoe is associated with Christmas good cheer
–in the Czech lands it is believed to bring good health, good luck and
prosperity –but what happens when it turns into a killer? A Czech
hospital discovers the magical properties of Kiwanis dolls in treating
children and, the country’s new hero Super Václav is unmasked. More
Is the Czech baby boom over and did it ever happen?
In recent years the media, including Radio Prague, repeatedly reported
about the Czech Republic experiencing a baby boom. It seemed obvious:
statisticians reported increasing birth figures, maternity hospitals were
bursting at the seams and mothers had to register months ahead of their
delivery to secure a place. So is the baby boom now over and in fact –
did it ever happen? More
Using classical music to help children out of poverty
In this special programme, David Vaughan looks at a unique project to
encourage children with musical talent who come from some of the poorest
families in the Czech Republic. The project enables primary school children
to learn to play with some of the country’s foremost classical musicians.
Its success is a reminder of the power of music to cross boundaries of
language, class and culture. More
Dr. Pavel Boček – child oncologist and founder of a charity for young cancer patients
Dr. Pavel Boček is a Czech child oncologist who works at Motol
hospital’s children oncology ward, sees patients in his own practice and
has founded a charity for children with cancer. He also spent some time
working in the United States, where he says he learned a lot about
communicating with patients. For this edition of Czech Life, I spoke to Dr.
Boček about his work, the field of child oncology and what first made him
decide to go into that specific area of medicine. More
Home 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
Czech Republic to abolish infant homes by 2013
The Czech government plans to abolish all of the country’s infant homes
where babies under the age of three are placed if they are considered at
risk or their families cannot take care of them. Some 2,000 infants spent
time in these homes last year – but beginning in January 2013, the
government wants to place babies in individual foster care. Most experts
have welcomed the idea but many warn that much needs to be improved in the
foster care system before infant homes can be abolished. Radio Prague spoke
to Petra Vrtbovská, the head of the NGO NATAMA which helps to find foster
parents for children at risk. More
Czech Constitutional Court rules against sending ten-year-old boy to psychiatric facility due to custody battle
The Czech Constitutional Court has just issued a verdict in favor of a
mother fighting to prevent her ten-year-old son – a perfectly healthy boy
-from being returned to a psychiatric hospital. The boy had already spent
six months there during his parents’ custody battle on the basis of a
previous court ruling. The court dealt with the case at the instigation of
the boy’s father who demanded that the boy be taken from his mother’s
care because she was biased against him and was having a bad influence on
the child. More
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