Because of an adverse birth incident the Czech midwife Ivana Konigsmarkova was sentenced to two years of imprisonment and suspended from working as a midwife for five years. Her supporters called for a protest rally in Prague for the 17th of October and Agnes Gereb wrote a personal letter of support to Ivana which was read out at the rally. Also a small deputation went to the Czech Embassy in Hungary and requested that Agnes's letter be passed to both the Ministers for Health and Justice of the Czech Republic.       

Dear Ivana,

Although I presume you are not able to hear what is being read to you in this moment,  I do hope that my message  will find its way to you somehow.

I know how difficult it is to lose a baby or to see a baby suffering permanent damage. It is hard for the parents, for society and also for us, midwives and doulas. It is very, very hard. I wish I could hold you in my arms. In my embrace I would like to give you support in what you must also know well, namely that in the presence of  birth and birthing, death can also be present, even when there is nobody to blame.

Organization preparing the report: Birth House Association (Születésház Egyesület)

Website: www.szuleteshaz.hu

 

 

I. Goals and activities

Goals and activities of the Birth House Association (BHA): to protect and represent pregnant mothers, women giving birth, newborns and families, to work towards ensuring that the right to undisturbed, natural birth is accepted in law and in society, to protect and represent health-care professionals who offer assistance in undisturbed birth.

 

II. Background information

 

Hungary is not the only country in the world in which only a very small percentage of women have the opportunity to experience a natural, undisturbed birth free of interventions. With a few exceptions, hospital births involve the routine administration of oxytocin, artificial rupture of the membranes, episiotomy and elective caesareans. In addition, contrary to the recommendations of the WHO (which state that a proportion of no more than 15% of births should be by caesarean), in Hungary, one mother out of three gives birth by caesarean section.

 

Dr Ágnes Geréb Arrested a Year Ago and Still Under House Arrest

 

Dr Ágnes Geréb, the Hungarian homebirth midwife, is the victim of inadequacies inherent in the Hungarian system of criminal procedures.

In the morning of the 5^th of October the Hungarian Lawyer’s Chamber hosted an informal press meeting. János Bánáti, Dr Geréb’s attorney, president of the Hungarian Lawyer’s Chamber, pointed out that the current house arrest of Dr Geréb is the result of the Hungarian legal system that sometimes automatically imprisons Hungarian citizens if she is a criminal suspect. “The case of Dr Geréb clearly shows that subjects of the criminal procedures may not only be criminals.” Dr Bánáti said. Dr Molnár added that Dr Geréb has not been addressed or interrogated by Hungarian authorities since Dec, 2010.

Gabriella Varró introduced the outcomes of the first comprehensive research on homebirth in Hungary. A woman whose baby was hospitalized after a normal, physiological homebirth was also present. She said she did not understand the reason why Dr Geréb is accused of any crime since both she and her baby are fine and healthy and the baby’s hospitalization was independent of the birth place).