Ágnes Geréb
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Ágnes Geréb (born 20 December 1952) is a Hungarian
gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...
,
midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...
and
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
. 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 Geréb's license to practice medicine was revoked for 3 years in 2007 as punishment for the death of a newborn in 2000, and in 2009 she was charged with manslaughter relating to an earlier home birth when a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 The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is a British midwives organisation founded in 1881 by Louisa Hubbard and Zepherina Smith. It has existed under its present name since 1947 and is the United Kingdom's only trade union or professional organisati ...
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 The president of Hungary, officially the president of the republicUnder the Basic Law, adopted in 2011, the official name of the state is simply Hungary; Before, the state was called the Republic of Hungary. However, the office is nonetheless ...
.


Biography

Born in
Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, Geréb graduated from the
University of Szeged The University of Szeged () is a Public university, public research university in Szeged, Hungary. Established as the Jesuit Academy of Kolozsvár in present-day Cluj-Napoca in 1581, the institution was re-established as a university in 1872 by ...
as a
Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...
, in 1977. She finished special training in
Obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a su ...
, (1982). In 1986 she obtained a B.Sc. in Psychology at the
Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University (, ELTE, also known as ''University of Budapest'') is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in ...
,
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. 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 The University of Debrecen ( ) is a university located in Debrecen, Hungary. It is the oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in Hungary ever since its establishment in 1538. The university has a well established progra ...
). In 2010 she obtained a B.Sc. in Midwifery from the
Semmelweis University Semmelweis University (Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Semmelweis Egyetem'', ) is a research-led medical school in Budapest, Hungary, founded in 1769. With six faculties and a doctoral school it covers all aspects of medical and health sciences. ...
, 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 The University of Szeged () is a Public university, public research university in Szeged, Hungary. Established as the Jesuit Academy of Kolozsvár in present-day Cluj-Napoca in 1581, the institution was re-established as a university in 1872 by ...
, 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 Ashoka (formerly branded Ashoka: Innovators for the Public) is an American-based nonprofit organization that promotes social entrepreneurship by connecting and supporting individual social entrepreneurs. Ashoka invests in over 3,800 social entre ...
. 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 La Leche League International (LLLI) () is a Non-governmental organization, non-governmental, nonprofit organization, non-profit organization that organizes advocacy, education, and training related to breastfeeding. It is present in about 89 co ...
'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.


References


External links


Ágnes Geréb in Prison; Two Paradigms Collide, 2010

Movement to free Ágnes Geréb

Hungary: Midwife Agnes Gereb taken to court for championing home births, guardian.co.uk, 2010

Ágnes Geréb’s Arrest and the Home Birth Movement in Hungary, 2010
* Th
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of Ágnes Geréb {{DEFAULTSORT:Gereb, Agnes 1952 births Living people Hungarian gynaecologists Hungarian midwives People from Szeged Hungarian women physicians Social entrepreneurs