Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is characterized by a very high level of prenatal care, a high level of women's education, easy access to abortion, a high divorce rate, atheism, and many children born to unwed couples.

The fertility rate in the Czech Republic was 1.44 in 2007. Similar to other postsocialist countries, the birth rate declined sharply after the Velvet Revolution; in 1989, the rate was 1.87, with the lowest peak of 1.13 reached in 1999. The average age of a mother having her first child at that time was 27.1 years.

All mothers in the country are entitled to the same kind of support, although it is partially dependent on her previous employment and paid insurance. A birth mother receives a birth allowance as well as financial support in motherhood. Maternity leave lasts 28 weeks, has to start at least 6 weeks before the expected date of birth, is paid from sickness insurance, and represents 70 percent of her salary with an upper limit. After the maternity leave, a period of parental leave starts. The father or mother receives a parental benefit up to the fourth year of the child's age. If a family's income is below a certain level, they can receive a per child benefit.

Although the share of children born to unmarried women was 34.5 percent in 2007, there is not any special support for them; different social benefits depend on household income.

There is a widespread belief in the country that the mother should stay with the child at home they reach 3 years of age. Legally, an employer has to secure a job within the company for the parent up to the third year of the child's age.

Almost every second marriage is divorced. The average number of children in a divorced family in 2007 was 0.88. Families with one child represented 33.2 percent of all divorced couples in that year; families with two children, 23.1 percent; and families with three or more children, 2.8 percent.

According to 2001 census data, only 35.5 percent of women and 28.6 percent of men claim to believe in God. The country is considered one of the most atheistic in the world.

Contraception is available only with a prescription from a doctor and has to be fully paid for. A woman can undergo an abortion for any reason until the 12th week of pregnancy; until the 8th week, a so-called “mini abortion” (which is an ambulatory intervention) is possible. The abortion has to be paid for in full—the sum is about one-third of the minimum wage for the “mini abortion” and about half for the abortion until the 12th week. Abortions for health reasons is allowed until the 24th week.

The infant mortality rate was 3.14 per 1,000 live births in 2007, which is one of the lowest in the world. However, there is very specific situation concerning birthing: The Petition for Improving Maternity Care Services in the Czech Republic, called Normalni Porod (Normal Birth), points out that the maternity care standard in the country does not provide suitable alternatives for all mothers, since the Czech obstetrics standard considers birth outside large hospitals as unsafe, and independent midwifery is suppressed by state authorities.

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