ⓘ marks a fact that changes often - a price, a deadline, an office rule. Check it with the office before you rely on it.
Week thirty-three, a Wednesday evening, the kitchen in Nusle. Dima dials the fifth number on the list of paediatricians in Praha 4 and hears, for the fifth time, a polite „Bohužel, nové pacienty nebereme“: sorry, we are not taking new patients. Marina crosses out another line. Nobody here assigns your baby a doctor by address, and no paediatric nurse turns up on her own a few days after the birth. What does come, since 2026, is a porodní asistentka: three home visits in the šestinedělí, paid by the insurer, with the referrals handed over at discharge ⓘ. She sees mother and baby, but she is not the baby's doctor. The praktický lékař pro děti a dorost, the family paediatrician who will see Daniel until he is nineteen, is found before the birth, and the choosing goes both ways.
Sixth call. A dry male voice: „Za sedm týdnů? Tak se tu zastavte, ať vás vidím. Vezmu vás.“ Seven weeks to go? Drop by so I can have a look at you. I will take you. That is MUDr. Sedláček, and Marina laughs for the first time all evening. This lesson covers how to find a paediatrician who still „bere“, what happens at the first visit two days after discharge, the preventivní prohlídky of the first year, why the poradna and the sick children never share a waiting room, the hexavalent vaccine and the Czech calendar, how to read the zdravotní a očkovací průkaz, and what to say into the phone at eight in the morning when the baby has a temperature.
The official name, shortened to PLDD on forms and websites. This is the child's registering doctor from birth to the 19th birthday: check-ups, vaccinations, the parent's sick-child leave, referrals to specialists. „Dorost“ means adolescents, so the title promises care to the end of the teenage years. You name this doctor at discharge and the porodnice sends the discharge report there.
Praktického lékaře pro děti a dorost máme domluveného v Nuslích, kousek od nás.
We have a family paediatrician lined up in Nusle, just round the corner from us.
The phrase that decides your last weeks of pregnancy. Many Prague practices answer „nebereme“; the polite follow-up is „Nevíte o někom, kdo bere?“, and the nurse often does know. If you run out of numbers, call your zdravotní pojišťovna: insurers are obliged to help a client find a registering doctor ⓘ, and it works more often than people expect. Start calling around week 28-30, not after the birth.
Dobrý den, chtěla jsem se zeptat, jestli berete nové pacienty. Termín porodu mám za sedm týdnů.
Good morning, I wanted to ask whether you take new patients. My due date is in seven weeks.
The rhythm is set by vyhláška 70/2012 Sb.: within two days of discharge, at 14 days, 6 weeks, 3, 4-5, 6, 8, 10-11 and 12 months, then 18 months, 3 years and every two years until 19 ⓘ. All paid by public insurance. The nurse books the next one as you leave, so ask „Kdy přijdeme příště?“ before the coats go on. Since 2026 a vision screening between 6 and 12 months has been added ⓘ.
Preventivní prohlídku ve čtrnácti dnech máme v úterý ve dvě.
We have the two-week check-up on Tuesday at two.
The paediatrician's hours for healthy children: check-ups and vaccinations. Sick children come at other times, usually in the morning, and many practices have two waiting rooms or two doors marked „zdravé děti“ and „nemocné děti“. Turning up with a coughing toddler at poradna time earns you a look Czech nurses have perfected. A sign like „Poradna: út, čt 13-15“ is typical; read the door before you read the internet.
Očkujeme jenom v poradně, v úterý a ve čtvrtek odpoledne.
We only vaccinate during well-baby hours, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
The Czech „trojí síto“, a triple sieve against hip dysplasia: an exam in the porodnice, an ultrasound at an orthopaedist at about 6-9 weeks, then a follow-up at 12-16 weeks ⓘ. The paediatrician gives you a žádanka (referral) and you book the orthopaedist yourself; baby slots fill up, so call the week you get home. Singular „kyčel“ is feminine: „pravá kyčel“.
Na ultrazvuk kyčlí jsme se dovolali až napotřetí, ale termín máme.
It took three tries to get through for the hip ultrasound, but we have an appointment.
Every Czech baby gets vitamin D drops through the first year, often until about 18 months ⓘ; Vigantol is the name you will hear most. The paediatrician prescribes it and asks at nearly every check-up whether you are giving it: „kontrola podávání vitaminu D“ is on almost every line of the schedule. How many drops depends on the product, so let the nurse show you. Vitamin K was given in the porodnice and is ticked in the booklet.
Déčko mu dáváme každé ráno do lžičky s trochou mléka.
We give him his vitamin D every morning on a spoon with a little milk.
Known as ZOP: a booklet in a boys' and a girls' version that the porodnice starts before discharge and the paediatrician fills in at every check-up: newborn report, weight and length, vaccinations. It belongs to the parents, not the practice. Take it to every doctor, every pohotovost, every holiday; later the školka will want a copy of the vaccination page.
Nezapomeňte očkovací průkaz, bez něj vám sestra očkování nezapíše.
Do not forget the vaccination booklet; without it the nurse cannot record the vaccination.
One injection against záškrt (diphtheria), tetanus, černý kašel (whooping cough), hepatitida B, Hib and dětská obrna (polio). Mandatory under vyhláška 537/2006 Sb.: two doses in the first year, starting from the 9th week and two months apart, and a third between 11 and 13 months ⓘ. Free under public insurance. The Czech calendar has no BCG for all babies any more; the porodnice only asks a tuberculosis risk questionnaire.
První dávka hexavakcíny je od devátého týdne, tak si to hlídejte.
The first dose of the six-in-one is due from the ninth week, so keep an eye on it.
Everything outside the mandatory list. In 2026 public insurance fully pays several of them: pneumococcus for infants, meningococcus B if started before 12 months, meningococcus ACWY if started between 1 and 2 years ⓘ. Rotavirus drops are paid by the parents, and many pojišťovny refund part of the cost from their benefit programmes ⓘ. When the doctor asks „Chcete očkovat i proti pneumokokům?“ it is a recommendation, not an upsell.
Očkování proti pneumokokům hradí pojišťovna, rotaviry si platíme sami.
Insurance pays for the pneumococcal vaccine; we pay for rotavirus ourselves.
Czech works like English here: „má teplotu“ means a raised temperature, „horečka“ is a proper fever, roughly from 38 °C ⓘ, „zvýšená teplota“ the zone just below. On the phone give the number and where you measured: „38,4 v podpaží“ (under the arm) or „v konečníku“ (rectally). A baby under three months with a fever is a same-day call, not a wait-until-tomorrow one ⓘ.
Dobrý den, tady Kuznetsová. Danielovi je šest týdnů a od noci má 38,4 v podpaží.
Good morning, this is Mrs Kuznetsová. Daniel is six weeks old and since the night he has had 38.4 under the arm.
When the ordinace is closed, evenings and weekends, you go to the dětská pohotovost, officially lékařská pohotovostní služba (LPS). For Praha 4 that is Thomayerova nemocnice in Krč, Vídeňská 800 ⓘ; Motol, Bulovka and Vinohrady run one too. Expect a wait. Breathing trouble, a child you cannot wake, a seizure: that is 155, not the pohotovost.
V sobotu v noci jsme s ním byli na pohotovosti v Krči.
On Saturday night we took him to the out-of-hours service in Krč.
When the child is ill and a working parent stays home, the paediatrician issues an electronic eOČR and ČSSZ pays ošetřovné, 60 % of the daily base, for up to 9 days (16 for a single parent) ⓘ. With Marina at home on mateřská, ask the ordinace or ČSSZ whether Dima can claim it ⓘ. Ask on the same call: „Potřeboval bych OČR.“
Pane doktore, potřeboval bych OČR, malý má horečku a manželka leží s chřipkou.
Doctor, I would need sick-child leave: the little one has a fever and my wife is in bed with flu.
Thursday afternoon, poradna hours at MUDr. Sedláček's ordinace in Nusle, the door marked „zdravé děti“. Daniel is on his fifth day of life and came home from Podolí yesterday. Marina has the discharge report and her insurance card; Dima carries the car seat and a list of questions on his phone.
Dr Sedláček
Dobrý den, pojďte dál. Tak tohle je ten Daniel, kvůli kterému jste mi volali ještě s bříškem? Položte ho na přebalovák a svlékněte ho do plenky.
Good afternoon, come in. So this is the Daniel you rang me about while you were still pregnant? Put him on the changing table and undress him down to the nappy.
„Přebalovák“ is the everyday word for the changing table. Every first visit starts with a full undressed exam: skin, navel stump, reflexes, hips, fontanelle. Bring a spare nappy and a muslin; the practice rarely has spares.
Marina
Dobrý den, pane doktore. Ano, to je on. Tady je propouštěcí zpráva z Podolí a moje kartička pojištěnce.
Good afternoon, doctor. Yes, that is him. Here is the discharge report from Podolí and my insurance card.
A newborn has no insurance card of his own yet; show yours and say which pojišťovna you are with. Vocative: „pane doktore“, never „doktor“ on its own.
Dr Sedláček
Výborně. Porodní váha tři kila čtyřicet, při propuštění tři dvacet, z patičky odebráno, kyčle v porodnici v pořádku. Kojíte?
Excellent. Birth weight three kilos forty, three twenty at discharge, heel-prick done, hips fine in the hospital. Are you breastfeeding?
He is reading the propouštěcí zpráva aloud. Czechs often say weights as „tři kila čtyřicet“: 3 kg and 40 decagrams, i.e. 3,400 g, not 3,040; grams are counted in „deka“. Losing up to about a tenth of birth weight in the first days is expected, which is why he does not blink.
Marina
Kojím, ale ještě se nám to úplně nedaří. Někdy se napije jen chvilku a hned usne.
I am, but it is not quite working yet. Sometimes he drinks for a moment and falls straight asleep.
„Nedaří se nám“ (it is not going well for us) is the gentle Czech way to admit a problem; doctors hear it as an invitation to help. „Kojit“ is the verb for breastfeeding; „krmit“ is for animals and spoons.
Dr Sedláček
Pátý den je to normální. Ve čtrnácti dnech ho zvážíme, a když bude přibírat, nic neměníme. Na vitamin D vám napíšu recept a sestra vám ukáže, kolik kapek.
On day five that is normal. We will weigh him at two weeks, and if he is gaining we change nothing. I will write you a prescription for vitamin D and the nurse will show you how many drops.
Czech paediatricians often point you to a laktační poradkyně if feeding stays hard; lesson 09 covers that. The prescription is an eRecept: a code by SMS or on paper that any lékárna can read.
Dima
Pane doktore, kdy bude první očkování? A co přesně je povinné?
Doctor, when is the first vaccination? And what exactly is compulsory?
Short, future tense with „bude“, two questions: perfect for limited Czech. „Povinné“ (compulsory) is the word the doctor will build his answer around.
Dr Sedláček
Hexavakcína od devátého týdne, šest nemocí v jedné injekci, to je povinné. Pneumokoky doporučuju, ty hradí pojišťovna. Rotaviry jsou kapky do pusy a ty si platíte sami.
The six-in-one from the ninth week, six diseases in one injection; that is compulsory. I recommend pneumococcus, insurance pays for that. Rotavirus is drops into the mouth and you pay for those yourselves.
„Doporučuju“ is the spoken form of „doporučuji“; you will hear both. Rotavirus vaccine must be started early, within the first weeks of life ⓘ, so decide before the first hexavakcína visit, not after. Price in Prague in 2026 roughly 1 500-2 500 Kč per dose ⓘ.
Marina
Ještě je tu jeden háček. Daniel nemá rodné číslo ani kartičku pojištěnce a narození jsme pojišťovně zatím nenahlásili.
There is one more snag. Daniel has no personal number and no insurance card, and we have not reported the birth to the insurer yet.
Name the paperwork gap at the first visit, not at the first vaccination. A foreign newborn waits months for a rodné číslo (it comes with the residence permit, lesson 07), and the practice needs some number to bill every visit. „Háček“ is the hook over č, and also the snag in any plan.
Dr Sedláček
To znám, to tu máme každý měsíc. Dnešní prohlídku zapíšu a vykážu, až bude mít číslo. Narození nahlaste pojišťovně do osmi dnů a dopis s jeho číslem pojištěnce pak přineste sestře.
I know that one, we get it every month. I will write today's check-up down and bill it once he has a number. Report the birth to the insurer within eight days, and then bring the nurse the letter with his insurance number.
The parents, not the hospital, report the birth to the mother's insurer within 8 days (lesson 07). For a child without a rodné číslo the insurer assigns a substitute číslo pojištěnce and sends it by letter; until the residence permit brings the real rodné číslo, that is the number on every bill, prescription and vaccination record ⓘ. Daniel is in public insurance from birth; only the number is missing.
Dima
Manželka tam zavolá hned zítra. A kdyby měl teplotu, kdy vám máme volat?
My wife will call them first thing tomorrow. And if he has a temperature, when should we call you?
„Hned zítra“ (first thing tomorrow) is a promise a Czech doctor takes seriously, so keep it. „Kdyby“ plus past tense is the Czech conditional: „kdyby měl“, if he had.
Dr Sedláček
Ráno od půl osmé do osmi máme telefonní hodinu. Nemocné beru dopoledne, poradna je odpoledne, aby se nepotkali. A když bude mít miminko do tří měsíců teplotu večer, nečekejte do rána a jeďte na pohotovost do Krče.
We have a phone hour from half past seven to eight in the morning. I see sick children in the morning and the well-baby clinic is in the afternoon, so they do not meet. And if a baby under three months has a temperature in the evening, do not wait until morning; go to the out-of-hours service in Krč.
Hours are this practice's own; every ordinace has its sign and its phone hour, so photograph the door ⓘ. „Půl osmé“ is 7:30, not 8:30: Czech counts the half towards the coming hour, exactly like German „halb acht“: halfway to eight.
Marina
Rozumím. A kdy máme přijít příště?
I understand. And when should we come next?
Always end with this question before you leave; the nurse books from the doctor's answer. „Rozumím“ is the safe, polite „understood“; „chápu“ sounds more like „I get it“.
Dr Sedláček
Za necelé dva týdny, v úterý, na prohlídku ve čtrnácti dnech. Sestra vám dá žádanku na kyčle a zapíše nás do průkazu. A gratuluju, je to pěkný kluk.
In just under two weeks, on Tuesday, for the two-week check-up. The nurse will give you a referral for the hips and write us into the booklet. And congratulations, he is a fine boy.
Daniel's fourteenth day falls on a Sunday, so the two-week check-up moves to the Tuesday after, in poradna hours; a day or two either way is normal. „Zapíše nás do průkazu“: the nurse records today's visit as „Souhrn preventivní prohlídky při převzetí“, the take-over check-up, on page 10 of the ZOP. „Pěkný kluk“ from a Czech doctor is high praise.
Child health and vaccination booklet (ZOP)
A pocket booklet prepared with the Státní zdravotní ústav and issued with the Ministry of Health's approval, handed to you at the porodnice. The newborn report comes first, then one page per check-up (at handover, 14 days, 6 weeks, 3 months and onwards) with tick boxes and a short conclusion, then the vaccination record. Doctors write fast and abbreviate; this is how to read their shorthand.
| Registrující praktický lékař pro děti a dorost | registering paediatrician | Under it the booklet says „svobodně zvolený“, freely chosen: nobody assigns one to you. The practice stamps it with name, signature and phone. There are four slots, because people do move or switch; a new doctor fills the next line. |
| rodné číslo | birth number (personal ID) | For a foreign baby this box may stay empty for weeks, or carry a temporary insurance number, until the rodné číslo is assigned with the residence permit ⓘ. Ask the nurse to fill it in once you have it; mismatched numbers cause trouble with the insurer. |
| porodní hmotnost … g, při propuštění … g | birth weight, weight at discharge | In grams, so 3400 and 3200. The paediatrician measures every later gain from these two numbers. Keep your own home weighings out of it unless asked; the practice scales are the reference. |
| K vitamin ano (p.os./i.m.) ne | vitamin K given: by mouth or injection | „P.os.“ is per os, by mouth; „i.m.“ is intramuscular. If it says p.os., ask the paediatrician whether further oral doses are needed at home ⓘ; with i.m. it is usually done. |
| screening PKU, hypotyreosa, CAH, kyčle, sluch | newborn screenings done | PKU, hypotyreosa and CAH come from the heel-prick blood („z patičky“); kyčle and sluch are the hip and hearing checks. A tick means done, not a diagnosis. If something comes back unclear, the screening lab or the paediatrician calls you; silence is good news. |
| kojen ano / ne | breastfed: yes / no | Ticked at every check-up in the first year. Mixed feeding is still „ano“; tell the doctor honestly if you add formula, it changes nothing about the care but everything about the weight curve. |
| kyčle v normě ano / ne | hips normal: yes / no | On the 14-day, 6-week, 3-month and 4-month pages. A „ne“ usually means the orthopaedist wants a follow-up or široké balení (wide nappying, a double nappy or a spreader pillow), not surgery. Read the „Doporučení“ line below it. |
| VF … x … | anterior fontanelle size | VF is velká fontanela, the soft spot, measured in centimetres, for example „2 x 2“. It shrinks over the first 12-18 months; the doctor watches the trend, not one number. |
| Závěr / Doporučení | conclusion / recommendation | The two lines that matter on every check-up page. „Prospívá“ (thriving) is the word you want to see. „Doporučení“ holds the to-do: „UZ kyčlí 4.-6. týden“, „vit. D“, „očkování v 9. týdnu“. Photograph the page before you leave. |
| Očkování: datum, očkovací látka, šarže, razítko a podpis ⓘ | vaccination record row | Each dose gets a line: date, the vaccine's trade name, the batch number (šarže, often a sticker) and the stamp. Check that „1. dávka“, „2. dávka“ of the hexavakcína are both there before the 11-13-month booster; the školka and any future doctor abroad will read exactly this page. |
Rule one: the nurse runs the place. She answers the phone in the phone hour, books the check-ups, decides whether your cough is a „come in tomorrow“ or a „come in now“, and remembers which family brought their sick toddler into the well-baby room. Learn her name in the first week and use it. Czech parents choose a paediatrician by word of mouth, from neighbours, from the mateřské centrum and the sandpit at the hřiště, not from online ratings; once you are in, people stay for nineteen years, so the relationship is worth tending.
Rule two: the doctor does not come to you. A Czech paediatrician almost never makes a home visit to a sick child; with a fever you wrap the baby and take him to the ordinace in the morning, or to the pohotovost in the evening. Some paediatricians do the very first visit at home after discharge; ask when you register. In return you get something many health systems do not offer: one doctor who knows your child from the first week, who reads the whole booklet, and whom you can phone every weekday morning.
Rule three: vaccination here is calm and not negotiable. The hexavakcína and MMR are compulsory by law, and a školka may accept only a child with the required vaccinations, except in the compulsory last year before school ⓘ. You will meet the vaccine debate in internet forums, but in the ordinace it is handled with the same dry matter-of-factness as the weighing. Ask anything you like; Czech paediatricians answer questions, they just do not argue about the calendar.
Rule four: no fuss about fever. Expect „ať hodně pije a odpočívá“ (plenty to drink and rest) more often than antibiotics. Grandmothers on video calls will be horrified that nobody prescribes anything. Write the numbers down, call in the morning, and let the system do the slow, sensible thing it is good at.
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