Dr. Agnes Gereb, CV

CURRICULUM VITAE

 

Personal:

 

Name: Dr. Ágnes Geréb, M.D.

Born: Szeged, 20th December 1952


the CV is downloadable in pdf format from here >>>

 

Education:

  • 1977: Doctor of Medicine, University of Szeged, Faculty of Medicine

  • 1982: Obstetrician specialist

  • 1986: B.Sc. in Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest

  • 1990: Research on professional practice of home births in a birth centre of Livermoore, 6 months traineeship

  • 2005: certified midwife, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Health

  • 2010: B.Sc. in Midwifery, Semmelweis University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Budapest

 

 

Employment:

  • 1977-1994: Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Obstetirics and Gynaecology Department, obstetrician

  • From 1989: Started independent midwife practice. Assisted home births for first time in Hungary. Since then she has attended 3500 home births.

  • From 1994: Staff member of Daylight Birth Centre®

  • 1994: Foundation of the first Hungarian Birth Centre® which functioned partially as the background institute for home births.

  • Foundation of the second Birth Centre® in Hungary.

 

 

Fellowships, grants and awards:

 

  • 1997: Ashoka Award for a year – Innovators for the Public - is founded on the premise that the most effective way to promote positive social change is to invest in social entrepreneurs with innovative solutions that are sustainable and replicable, both nationally and globally. Ashoka strives to shape a global, entrepreneurial, competitive citizen sector: one that allows social entrepreneurs to thrive and enables the world’s citizens to think and act as changemakers.

  • 2006: Promenade Award – the Award is founded by civilian women’s initiation for acknowledging women doing prominent civilian activity. Its aim is to attract attention to women, to the indispensable roles women play in practical actuation the society. Its further aim is to bring feminine role model persons to set great examples for women.

 

 

Organisational Connections

 

  • 1992: Founder of Alternatal Foundation. Their main aim is to popularise the natural, free and safety childbirth. Dr. Michel Odent, international authority of obstetrics was the honorary chairman of the foundation for many years.

  • 1994: co-founder of ENCA (European Network of Childbirth Associations)

  • From 1996: active cooperation with La Leche League

  • 2008: founder member of Association of Independent Midwives

 

 

Professional Conferences:

 

1986: Attended the First International Conference on Home Birth in London

1992: International Conference on Birth – organised a conference in Szeged with several hundreds of participants. The greatest authorities of midwifery, world-wide recognised professionals were present (the main patron was Dr. Michel Odent, gynaecologist-obstetrician, founder of Primal Health Research Centre, London). Patron was Sheila Kitzinger, social anthropologist and Beverly Chalmers the consultant of WHO at that time. Lecturers were Dr. Wendy Savage, consultant of gynaecology and obstetrician at the Royal London Hospital) and many renowned Hungarian professionals, including Dr. Sándor Bálint.

1994: Conference on the newborn, the latest research on how intervention during delivery affects the newborn – presentation of Dr. Marshall Klaus, the world-known American neonatologist, research professor at Semmelweis University. Co-lecturer: Phyllis Klaus, American psychoanalyst.

1994: Dr Michel Odent, well-known gynaecologist-obstetrician and researcher, who was among the first to apply natural delivery methods, arrived to Hungary for a professional consultation, met head of hospitals to provide background by presenting research results to support the pioneer work of Alternatal Foundation.

1995: Professional training for midwives with world-famous guest lecturers, like Barbara Harper, Beverly Beech, Phyllis Klaus, Dr. Michel Odent.

From 1995: Has hosted ENCA (European Network of Childbirth Association) conferences and has been participating in international work ever since.

2001: To give birth freely, to be born free: A campaign and petition for the establishment of legal and professional framework of home birth.

2001: The 3rd Home Birth World Congress – gave two lectures entitled: Past attends at birth and Birth is not gentle.

2005: ENCA Meeting, lecturer, organiser: Eutokia

2005: Statistical Summary on Assisted Home Births. Lecture on the Conference Past, Present, Future in the obstetrics, in Balatonalmádi.

2007: Lecture on the conference attached to ENCA in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Organiser, Center Fenix.

2008: Lecture on the International Conference of Midwifery, Prague, Czech-Republic





Lectures informing the public – organisition and participation:



1993:

  • ‘Midwives and parents’ – Budapest, assembly hall of Eötvös Grammer School, 300 attendants



1994:

  • ‘Self-Introductory lectures’ – Dunaújváros, Veszprém, Szeged and Budapest

  • ‘Aims of Alternatal Foundation’ – Press Conference in the Ministry of Public and Social Health

 

1995:

  • Preparatory organisation of Hungarian Preserving Tradition Workshop. The aim of this 3-year school is to discover the current opportunities of traditional midwifery and to participate in education.

  • ‘Undisturbed, natural birth’ - Lecture at the Semmelweis University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Budapest



1996:

  • Lecture at the SEAL Conference and Exhibition in Budapest

  • Lecture on the World Day of Breastfeeding, University of Pécs, Medical School, Specialisation of Heath Visitors, Kaposvár

  • Lecture entitled ‘A human is born’, Érd, House of Civilians

  • Lecture on the Naturopathic Conference, Petőfi Hall, Budapest

  • Lecture on the Third Symposium of Obstetrics, Perinatology and Anestesiology Association, Budapest



1996 – 2000

  • Regular open days at the Daylight Birth Center® and in clubs



2001

  • Lecture on the Conference of Polish Midwives, Warsaw



2002

  • Lecture on the ENCA (European Network of Childbirth Association) meeting, Warsaw

  • From 2002: leading workshops at the Daylight Birth Center®, on coping with cesarean section, with birth and with loss, and courses of holothropic breathing.



2003

  • Organised the first Week of Birth which is since held annually.

  • Organiser of an Extraordinary International Conference of Midwives, Budapest. Lecturers (among others) Dr. Wendy Savage, Dr. Marsden Wagner, Dr. Michel Odent

  • Constructor of the Exhibition entitled ‘Birthchannel – Insight into the intimate events around birth with sounds and pictures’, Budapest, Millenáris Park, Hall B





2004

  • 11th International Meeting of ENCA, Budapest

  • Organiser of Conference of the Alternatal Foundation with worldwide well-known authorities as lecturers, like Ina May Gaskin, Dr. Michael Odent and Elisabeth Geisel





2006

  • From 2006 has held several few-days trainings for birth professionals and pregnants, at Marosvásárhely and Kolozsvár, Romania



2007

  • Lecture on ‘The current practices of homebirth’, Hotel Danubius, Budapest

  • Preparation of stance of the Committee for Preparing Regulations around giving Birth Outside of Institutions. Members of the Committee and other birth professionals discussed and agreed in the document entitled ‘Protocol and guidelines for planned, non-institutional births’. The document was found to be a normative standard for creating the juridical regulations by all the participants and was handed it to the Ministry of Health.



2008

  • Invited Sheila Kitzinger to Budapest, who gave two lectures: The Situation of Birth in Various Cultures’ and ‘The Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome and Methods of Its Preventions’

 

 

Achievements, aims:

  • Her first aim was to train independent midwives who could attend homebirths without her presence and this has already been achieved.

  • From 1977: 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.

  • 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.

 

7th 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:

 

The nature of birth
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

Nagykata (Kate)
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

 

Moon Woman
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

Birth Into Being
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

Gentle Birth Choices
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

 

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


the CV is downloadable in pdf format from here >>>