[The differentiated perinatal care for high-risk pregnancies (author's transl)]

The grounds for a change in the organisation of perinatal care in CSSR were the for years stagnating perinatal mortality and high of the perinatal morbidity. Since the modern diagnostics and effective therapy of the high-risk pregnancies represent considerable demands upon the instrumental and personnel equipment, a system of a differentiated ambulatory and institutional care for pregnant women and newborn has been worked out, that will ensure the maximal care to those who need it. The differentiated care for woman in the course of pregnancy and labour and for the newborns in the first weeks of life is divided into three degrees: basic for all, increased for risk cases and specialized for selected complications. The selection of risk cases is performed by means of simple screening methods, a further selection of the most serious cases by means of special diagnostic methods. The system of differentiated care has been worked out and checked in one of the Prague's districs with 200,000 of inhabitants under the guidance of the Institute for the Care of Mother and Child, Prague-Podolí. Now it is being introduced in all districts of the country.