We would like to say thank you to everybody who showed their gratitude towards Dr. Ágnes Geréb on 20th January within the campaign called Flowers of Gratitude – bring a flower. We counted more than 2 000 flowers in Budapest only. Several towns in the country and abroad have joined the campaign (Keszthely, Szeged, Pécs, Eger, Debrecen, Székesfehérvár, Balatonalmádi, Ercsi, Veszprém, Mohács, Szentendre, Győr, Baja, Miskolc, Vác, Nagymaros, Sopron, Balatonfüred in Hungary and Vienna, London, Stockholm, Bournemouth and Wales abroad). You can find a video of the event in Budapest on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/halaviragok…

We are very happy that so many of you – regardless of age, sex, place of birth, or political beliefs – have come to express your opinion that the dignity of birth is very important.

Are you grateful because the father of your child or grandchild was able to be present at their baby’s birth? Do you believe that women should have the right to choose their body position while in labour? Do you agree that a newborn baby should stay by their mother’s side?

If yes, then it is time that you expressed your gratitude to the pioneer whose fight has opened up these possibilities in Hungary. It is time that we came together to thank dr Ágnes Geréb.

Come to Szabadság Bridge (Budapest, Hungary) any time between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday the 20th of January, 2018 and leave a flower as a sign of your gratitude. Take a photo of your flower and share it via social media with the hashtag #halaviragok (English translation: flowers of gratitude). You can post your flower and hashtag from other towns or abroad if you can't come to Budapest.

Place: Szabadság híd, Budapest 1111, Magyarország

Time: Saturday, 11am - 3pm

https://www.facebook.com/events/1788302658138728/

Please walk on once you are done. Stay peaceful and encourage others to do the same. Leave your political views at home, use the sidewalk only and make sure not to disturb those driving by. Thank you!
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In Hungary, fathers didn't have the right to be present at their children’s birth until 1977. During that year, a young medical student started allowing husbands into the labour room so they could stand by their wives during these life-changing hours and experience the miracle of their children’s arrival to this world. Later the same doctor worked out the basis of the related protocol used in our hospitals to date. As a result of her efforts, this practice has by now become normal for most Hungarian hospitals. This doctor was dr Ágnes Geréb. 

At the end of the 70's, it was unimaginable in Hungary for a newborn baby to stay by their mother. Babies were taken to a special ward for the newborn infants and were shuttled to their mothers for breast feeding in a strict 3-hour routine. A young doctor at the Szeged Women’s Clinic convinced her colleagues to introduce the nowadays widely spread practice of rooming-in. This doctor was dr Ágnes Geréb.

In 1992, a doctor organized an international conference with hundreds of participants to introduce the notion of undisturbed childbirth and the related international experience to Hungarian obstetricians. Prior to this moment, there was no other way for Hungarian women to give birth apart from lying on their backs with their legs tied and medicated. This conference initiated changes in our hospitals and within the routines of obstetricians that are now benefiting the entire Hungarian society. This conference was organized by dr Ágnes Geréb.

All women and families in Hungary are beneficiaries of Ágnes Geréb’s work, no matter if they choose to give birth in or out of hospital. We are all involved, so add your flower!