Psychiatr. praxi. 2025;26(1):5-8 | DOI: 10.36290/psy.2025.001

Innovations in psychiatric care for women in the perinatal period in the Czech Republic

MUDr. Antonín Šebela, Ph.D.
Národní ústav duševního zdraví, Klecany
3. lékařská fakulta, Univerzita Karlova, Praha

Perinatal mental health has become a significant focus of interest in recent years, with investment in new specialist perinatal mental health services in some countries. In this review article, we look at the state of perinatal mental health care in European countries and in the Czech Republic. In countries with advanced perinatal care, screening programs for mental disorders in pregnancy and postpartum are implemented, linked to a tiered multidisciplinary system of care and support. Specialized centres and psychiatric wards allowing hospitalization of mothers with children are the culmination of the tiered care. Specialist training is an important component of advanced perinatal psychiatric care. Perinatal mental health care in the Czech Republic is rather below average compared to Europe. However, in the last five years, partial steps have been taken that have gradually moved perinatal psychiatry towards the situation in Western and Scandinavian countries.

Keywords: perinatal psychiatry, screening, mother baby unit, education.

Accepted: March 27, 2025; Published: April 10, 2025  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Šebela A. Innovations in psychiatric care for women in the perinatal period in the Czech Republic. Psychiatr. praxi. 2025;26(1):5-8. doi: 10.36290/psy.2025.001.
Download citation
PDF will be unlocked 10.4.2026

References

  1. Howard LM, Molyneaux E, Dennis CL, et al. Non-psychotic mental disorders in the perinatal period. Lancet. 2014;384:1775-88. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  2. Stein A, Pearson RM, Goodman SH, et al. Effects of perinatal mental disorders on the fetus and child. Lancet. 2014;384:1800-19. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  3. Rogers A, Obst S, Teague SJ, et al. Association between maternal perinatal depression and anxiety and child and adolescent development: a meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. 2020; 174:1082-92. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  4. Luca DL, Garlow N, Staatz C, et al. Societal costs of untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in the United States. Am J Public Health. 2020;110:888-96. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  5. Bauer A, Knapp M, Parsonage M. Lifetime costs of perinatal anxiety and depression. J Affect Disord. 2016;192:83-90. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  6. Horakova A, Nemcova H, Hrdlickova K, et al. State of perinatal mental health care in the WHO region of Europe: a scoping review. Front Psychiatry. 2024;15:1350036. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  7. World Health Organization (WHO). [Internet] Guide for integration of perinatal mental health in maternal and child health services. 2020 [cited 2024 Dec 20]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240057142.
  8. Prom MC, Denduluri A, Philpotts LL, et al. A Systematic Review of Interventions That Integrate Perinatal Mental Health Care Into Routine Maternal Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Mar 14;13:859341. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  9. Horáková A, Nosková E, Švancer P, et al. Přesnost Edinburské škály poporodní deprese ve screeningu těžké depresivní poruchy a dalších psychických poruch u žen ke konci šestinedělí. Ceska gynekologie. 2022;87(1):19-26. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  10. Browne P, Bossenbroek R, Kluft A, et al. Prenatal Anxiety and Depression: Treatment Uptake, Barriers, and Facilitators in Midwifery Care. Journal of women's health. 2021; 30(8):1116-26. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  11. Chakravorty T. The role of specialist perinatal psychiatrists in modern medicine. Journal of perinatal medicine. 2022;50(9):1168-73. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  12. Topor A, Boe T, Larsen I. The Lost Social Context of Recovery Psychiatrization of a Social Process. Frontiers in sociology. 2022;7:832201. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  13. Connellan K, Bartholomaeus C, Due C, et al. A systematic review of research on psychiatric mother-baby units. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2017; 20:373-88. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  14. Action on Postpartum Psychosis. [Internet] Mother and Baby Units [cited 2024 Dec 20]. Available from: https://www.app-network.org/get-help/mother-and-baby-unit/
  15. Adhikary S, Gillespie K, Kimball H, et al. A systematic review of research examining mothers, infants, family and staff in psychiatric mother-baby units. Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2024;150(5):284-307. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  16. Casanova Dias M, Sönmez Güngör E, Naughton S, et al. Psychiatric training in perinatal mental health across Europe. Archives of women's mental health. 2020;25(2):501-6. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  17. Royal College of Midwifes. [Internet] Strengthening perinatal mental health: A roadmap to the right support at the right time. 2023 [cited 2024 Dec 20]. Available from: https://rcm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rcm-perinatal-mental-health-report-2023-1.pdf
  18. Royal College of Psychiatrists. [Internet] Faculty of Perinatal Psychiatry. [cited 2024 Dec 20]. Available from: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/members/your-faculties/perinatal-psychiatry.
  19. Ministerstvo zdravotnictví České republiky. [Internet] Národní akční plán pro duševní zdraví 2020-2030. 2021 [cited 2024 Dec 20]. Available from: https://mzd.gov.cz/narodni-akcni-plan-pro-dusevni-zdravi-2020-2030/
  20. Šebela A, Martan S, Kubrichtová V, et al. Prevence perinatálních duševních poruch: současná situace ve světě a v České republice. Gyn Por. 2019;3(3):1-4.
  21. Byatt N, Brenckle L, Sankaran P, et al. Effectiveness of two systems-level interventions to address perinatal depression in obstetric settings (PRISM): an active-controlled cluster-randomised trial. Lancet Public Health. 2024;9(1):e35-e46. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  22. Národní ústav duševního zdraví. [Internet] Těhotenství bez psychosociálního stresu ZÁVĚREČNÁ ZPRÁVA PROJEKTU ZD-ZDOVA1-018. 2024 [cited 2024 Dec 20]. Available from: https://www.nudz.cz/fileadmin/user_upload/Zaverecna_zprava.pdf.
  23. Horakova A, Kuklova M, Hrdlickova K, et al. Effectiveness of the mom supports mom peer support intervention in treating antenatal mental health difficulties in women. Midwifery. 2024;139:104198. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
  24. Němcová H, Hrdličková K, Kuklová M, et al. Enhancing Postpartum Mental Health: Evaluation of the Effect of Remote Peer Support Intervention. European Psychiatry. 2024 67(S1):S268-S269. Go to original source...
  25. Národní ústav duševního zdraví. [Internet] Co jsme v inkubaci zjistili a co jsme se naučili. 2024 [cited 2024 Dec 20]. Available from: https://www.nudz.cz/fileadmin/user_upload/Co_jsme_v_inkubaci_zjistili_a_co_jsme_se_naucili.pdf.
  26. Ministerstvo zdravotnictví České republiky. [Internet] Metodika zavádění multidisciplinárního přístupu v péči a podpoře lidí s duševním onemocněním. 2021 [cited 2024 Dec 20]. Available from: https://www.reformapsychiatrie.cz/sites/default/files/2021-03/metodika_MT_fin%20schv%C3%A1lena%20VV.pdf.




Psychiatry for Practice

Madam, Sir,
please be aware that the website on which you intend to enter, not the general public because it contains technical information about medicines, including advertisements relating to medicinal products. This information and communication professionals are solely under §2 of the Act n.40/1995 Coll. Is active persons authorized to prescribe or supply (hereinafter expert).
Take note that if you are not an expert, you run the risk of danger to their health or the health of other persons, if you the obtained information improperly understood or interpreted, and especially advertising which may be part of this site, or whether you used it for self-diagnosis or medical treatment, whether in relation to each other in person or in relation to others.

I declare:

  1. that I have met the above instruction
  2. I'm an expert within the meaning of the Act n.40/1995 Coll. the regulation of advertising, as amended, and I am aware of the risks that would be a person other than the expert input to these sites exhibited


No

Yes

If your statement is not true, please be aware
that brings the risk of danger to their health or the health of others.