The end of the beginning: context of death at birth in the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic represents a very secular, Post-Socialist country, with top-ranking medical care in biomedical standards. Nevertheless, issues of death, bereavement and associated rituals have been displaced to the very edge of both social policy and public debate. The article analyses the context of perinatal loss as an experience of end of life at its very beginning. It frames the institutional setting and symbolic context of and for such 'inappropriate' event, employing conceptual approaches of authoritative knowledge associated with perinatal loss. The article elaborates the current medicalised practice and cultural rituals. One perspective is the ambiguity of the definition of a stillbirth with competing sets of knowledge claiming their expertise over this issue. Another perspective is represented by the rules and practice for burying bodies treated until very lately as biological waste and disposed accordingly. The appeal to 'healthy population' forms the atmosphere for dealing with death itself. Third, interplay among interest groups advocating for or against the status quo is elaborated on. These are complemented by two additional perspectives; the ceasing practice of public last rites and by evidence from parental discussion forum, helping us diversify the subject matter under study in a specific Post-Socialist context.