Breastfeeding support in the Czech health care system

Abstact The diploma thesis is focused on forms and dimensions of breast-feeding support regarding different levels of women and child care in the health care system of the Czech Republic from the perspective of a woman, a mother, who is the health care recipient in the context of the legal framework of Czech legislation and relevant international documents. The findings are based on empirical research results gained from ten semi-structured in-depth interviews. Ten individual research participants gave birth in the same medical institution with the title Baby Friendly Hospital during the last three years, which is the unifying element of the participants. The perspective of a woman, based on a thematic analysis of interviews , shows a lot of perceived dimensions of the provided health care. This work identifies the most obvious women themes: their perception of breastfeeding in pregnancy, importance of breastfeeding for woman, the mother's contact with the baby after the childbirth, medical staff attitude and quality of provided care, aspects of pediatric care and support of breast-feeding out of the health care system. These themes are part of an extensive, historically based conception of health care provided in the Czech Republic, which includes a model of the relationship between a physician (medical..