Ágnes Geréb

Ágnes Geréb (born 20 December 1952) is a Hungarian gynaecologist, midwife and psychologist. She is the pioneer of including paternal participation in deliveries of children at hospitals and in homebirths in Hungary. She founded the Napvilág birthing centre. Geréb has helped deliver 3,500 babies at home.

Geréb's license to practice medicine was revoked for 3 years in 2007 as punishment for the death of a newborn in 2000, and in 2009 she was charged with manslaughter relating to an earlier home birth when a baby died after a difficult labour.

She was arrested on 5 October 2010 in Budapest, after being accused of negligent malpractice. She faced a long prison sentence. Her lawyer, Andrea Pelle, claims that the protocols of the trial were falsified. The arrest sparked outrage among home birth activists worldwide. On 23 November 2010, the British Royal College of Midwives condemned Gereb's detention. On 21 December 2010, Gereb was freed from prison and placed under house arrest. On 23 March 2011 she received a 2-year minimum security prison sentence which was pardoned on 28 June 2018 by the President of Hungary.

Biography
Born in Szeged, Hungary, Geréb graduated from the University of Szeged as a Doctor of Medicine, in 1977. She finished special training in Obstetrics, (1982). In 1986 she obtained a B.Sc. in Psychology at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. In 1990 she participated in a 6-month training in professional practice of home births in a birth centre of Livermore. Since 2005 Geréb is a certified midwife (University of Debrecen). In 2010 she obtained a B.Sc. in Midwifery from the Semmelweis University, Faculty of Health Sciences (Budapest).

Between 1977–1994 Geréb worked at the Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department of the University of Szeged, as an obstetrician. Since 1994 she has been a staff member of Daylight Birth Centre. In 1989 she started independent midwife practice. She founded the first and the second Birth Centres in Hungary as places for non-hospital deliveries. In 1977 she started smuggling fathers into labour rooms without permission, as a punishment she was banned from practice for six months. Years later the head of the clinic declared proudly that his institute was the first to allow fathers into the labour room.

In 1997, Geréb was elected an Ashoka Fellow.

She founded the Hungarian Alternatal Foundation (1992), co-founded the ENCA (European Network of Childbirth Associations) (1993) and the Association of Independent Midwives (2008). Since 1996, she participates in La Leche League International's activities.

Achievements and aims

 * Her first aim was to train independent midwives who could attend homebirths without her presence and this has already been achieved.
 * From 1993: leading one-week-long Information Weeks with fellow midwives on pregnancy, birth and childbearing. Birth professionals and helpers around birth give lectures and lead group consultations such as midwives, health visitors, lactation consultants, psychologists
 * As a part of the work of Alternatal Foundation giving lectures regularly and inviting international professionals to Hungary.
 * Raising awareness about the concept of doula, holding doula trainings, which led to the foundation of MODULE (Association of Doulas in Hungary) which trains hospital doulas.
 * Around 15 doulas work with Daylight Birth Center by the independent midwives.
 * The general approach to the birth experience has changed over the years. Mothers who have given birth at home have helped to make this change by passing on their views. Therefore, the level of women’s demand has been raised and the hospitals were forced to make changes – though sometimes only of cosmetic type. In the overall though this has helped in moving towards humanising hospital births in Hungary.

<!--== Other benefits, achievements and social effects of home births ==
 * Women breast feed their babies longer – somatic and psychic benefits (decrease of risk of allergic diseases and breast cancer).
 * Decreasing the risk of cervical cancer – the rupture of the cervix is found amongst the risk factors which can be a consequence of the examinations done during delivery, when the examiner dilates the cervix. Such interventions are never done during undisturbed births.
 * Higher propensity to give birth – the average number of children in those families given birth at home is three.
 * More conscious and better informed pregnancy and birth.
 * Postpartum depression amongst those of given birth at home is practically zero.
 * Home birth is cheaper for the state.
 * Acknowledged hospital obstetricians declared in the press for several times that without home births, therefore without the work of Dr. Ágnes Geréb the hospital obstetrics could be less baby- and mother friendly – the level of demand has increased.
 * 7 April was nominated as the day of Home Birth. The Meeting of Children Born at Home has been held attached to this day in the last nine years (since 1994). Stakeholders, several hundreds of families come to the Meeting from all around the country.
 * Other aim of Dr. Ágnes Geréb is the introduction of vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC) in hospitals and home – there are already remarkable achievements due VBACs done at home. Up to date there have been 186 VBACs attended by independent midwives. The hospital protocol for VBAC has been changed in the last six months as well.

Books published with her contribution

 * Stanley E. Sagov; Richard I. Feinbloom; Peggy Spindel; Archie Brodsky: Home birth: a practitioner's guide to birth outside the hospital. Alternatal Foundation, 1992, Szeged.
 * Penny Armstrong, C. N. M.; Sheryl Feldman: The Art of Birth. A Wise Birth: Bringing Together the Best of Natural Childbirth and Modern Medicine. Alternatal Foundation, 1995, 2001, Budapest.
 * Inda – from doulas’ diary. Daylight Birth Center, 2002, Budapest.
 * Dr. Michel Odent: The scientification of love. Daylight Birth Center, 2003, Budapest.
 * Dr. Michel Odent: The caesarean. Daylight Birth Center, 2004, Budapest.
 * Sheila Kitzinger: Birth crisis. Alternatal Foundation, 2008, Budapest.
 * Dr. Marsden Wagner: Born in the USA. How a broken maternity system must be fixed to put women and children first. Alternatal Foundation, 2010, Budapest.
 * Ingeborg Stadelmann: A Consultation with a Midwife. Katalizátor Publisher, 2007, Budapest. Peer-reviewer: Geréb Ágnes (Publishing of the book was supported by Alternatal Foundation.)
 * Ingeborg Stadelmann: Original Aroma Blends. Essential Oils for Living, Giving Birth and Dying. Katalizátor Publisher, 2003, 2007, Budapest. Publishing (Publishing of the book was supported by Alternatal Foundation.)
 * Kristen Bleich: The book of making love for teenagers. Tessloff Babilon, 2004, Budapest. Peer-reviewer: Geréb Ágnes.

DVDs published with her contribution
cameraman: Tamás Koós; music: Gergő Barcza; cut: László Papp and Mária Rigó; editing: Katalin Domjánné Harsányi, Ágnes Geréb and Tamás Koós. Producer: Alternatal Foundation, 2001 cut: Mária Rigó and László Papp; camera: Tamás Koós; Family: Kata Nagy, Zsolt Kánnár (Petya), Luca Kánnár and Panna Kánnár Friend: Mónika Macher (Mona) Doula: Éva Velkei Midwife: Ágnes Geréb Distributor in Hungary: Daylight Birth Center Director: Laimé Kiskünaité és Rimas Kavaliauskas; dramaturge: Giedré Paulin Kevicüté Rituals are performed by: Jurga Svediené midwife 1977, VILSAT TV translation: Katalin Domjánné Harsányi; dub: Péter Galambos, Ágnes Geréb, Dániel Herner and Viktória Szávai; technical assistance: Péter Galambos and Luca Suhai-Hodász; Distributor in Hungary: Daylight Birth Center Edited by Barbara Harper translation: Bea Klukon; dub: Péter Galambos, Ágnes Geréb, Katalin Kohler technical assistance: Péter Galambos, László Papp and Luca Suhai-Hodász The Russian Waterbirth Experience. C 1999, GLOBAL MATERNAL/CHILD HEALTH ASSOTIATION P.O. BOX 1400 WILSONVILLE, OR 97070. 1-800-641-BABY Distributor in Hungary: Daylight Birth Center Edited by Barbara Harper Global Maternal/Child Healt Assitiation A non-profit (501-c-3) public benefit corporation. P.O. BOX 1400 WILSONVILLE, OR 97070. For free info or the book Gentle Birth Choices. Phone: 503-682-3600. translation: Bea Klukon; dub: Péter Galambos, Ágnes Geréb, Katalin Kohler, Károly Kozma; technical assistance: Péter Galambos, László Papp and Luca Suhai-Hodász. distributor in Hungary: Daylight Birth Center
 * The nature of birth
 * Nagykata (Kate)
 * Moon Woman
 * Birth Into Being
 * Gentle Birth Choices

Noras

A film supported by Alternatal Foundation, www.birth.hu Copyright: Lilla Rist, 2006. editor-director: Lilla Rist cameraman: Barbara Kiszer, Tamás Koós cut/cutting: Balázs Féjja production manager: Zoltán Sinka translation/translated by: Balázs Földvári (with English subtitles)-->