The periods of pregnancy, childbirth and becoming a mother are some of the most important moments in a woman's life-and they are usually experienced within a healthcare institution. However, contact with the healthcare system during these periods can bring a number of difficulties and barriers for women with other nationality than Czech and affect interactions between them and healthcare professionals. The aim of this text is to explain how the category "foreigner" is established, and what "strangeness" means for healthcare professionals in relation to women within the context of perinatal care. The qualitative research was focused on healthcare professionals' experiences with women of different nationality. During the research, several in-depth interviews, non-participant observations and informal interviews were conducted. Healthcare professionals distinguish two categories of women who were not born in the Czech Republic-"our foreigners" and "migrants"-with regard to geographical and cultural proximity within their everyday practice. Foreignborn women are perceived by healthcare professionals as "obedient" patients who don't disrupt the routine of everyday medical practice. However, "strangeness" is not interpreted by healthcare professionals on the basis of a different nationality, but mainly due to problematic communication, non-cooperation, mistrust, and challenging women.

This paper seeks to understand what constitutes vulnerability among healthcare users in relations and social interactions with their healthcare providers. While many authors see vulnerability as an intersection of more or less permanent categories, such as gender, sexuality, social class, or ethnicity/race etc., we point to much more subtle and situational forces at play. In particular, we argue that vulnerability results from patients' situational or contextual in/capability or un/willingness to communicate. We apply an interactional theory, namely a group-centred and relational approach (Choo, Ferree 2010; Giritli-Nygren, Olofsson 2014; McCall 2005) that focuses on particular marginalised groups and studies their relations to dominant groups. We build on ethnographic research with two different groups: (1) elderly patients in a long-term care unit; (2) foreign-born women who received care during their pregnancy and childbirth in Czech healthcare facilities and maternity wards. Our research includes participant observation in hospital settings and ethnographic in-depth and semistructured interviews with healthcare users as well as providers.

When the experiences of migration and becoming a mother intersect, the context and conditions of this have implications for the health of the women and their children. This article presents an overview of social-science research on health and pregnancy among migrant women and on the perinatal and postpartum care they receive. Research on 124 studies on this subject revealed that there are three main themes associated with maternal health in this context: (1) How women are defined and categorised as migrants: This is often based on a single indicator, country of origin or birth. This creates a simplified and homogenising category that then also serves as the basis for the use of more complex categories. (2) The significance of social support for families, especially with respect to informal care, and the fundamental role of language and language barriers in health care. The relationship between migrant women and health-care providers is impacted by cultural differences, which leave women in a vulnerable position. (3) Macro-sociological and epidemiological factors. These are discussed mainly from the perspective of the 'epidemiological paradox', which the authors here deem a rhetorical trick because it conceals the variableness of the findings obtained from perinatal health indicators. keywords: perinatal health, healthy immigrant effect, acculturation, migrant women, epidemiological paradox, health care

This paper focuses on the notion of vulnerability and its conceptualization in

New trends in providing healthcare are dynamically changing the field and increasing demands on healthcare staff. The adequate capacity and training of healthcare staff is considered an essential measure of the quality of the provided care. The shortage of health personnel is becoming one of the most pressing issues and challenges facing both the health system and society as a whole. The aim of this text is to shed light on how general nurses perceive their profession and what influences their level of job satisfaction. To this end, qualitative research was conducted and the method of in-depth interviews was used to determine the experiences of general nurses (working in standard and intensive care units) in their profession. The general nurses evaluated the issues of their work through aspects related mainly to management, teamwork, working conditions, competency, adaptation process, prestige and respect. There is an interplay between the various factors that affect the subjectivity of general nurses in different situations and with different intensities. General nurses perceive higher financial remuneration as a motivation, but not as a major predictor of their job satisfaction. Nurses interpreted the key factors for job satisfaction to be communication and collaboration.