Agneta Bergenheim midwife trial postponed

The trial of Agneta Bergenheim, a midwife accused of continuing to assist in home births despite a ban on her practice, has been postponed until December. Bergenheim, who has operated her own business for over 37 years and conducted approximately 500 home births, faces potential fines or up to six months in prison.

The legal action follows an inspection by the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO) in 2025. The agency found serious deficiencies in her operations, leading to an immediate ban on her activities in October of that year. The investigation is part of a broader government mandate to strengthen supervision of maternal and childbirth care, which has involved inspecting 18 providers and finding deficiencies in all of them, primarily regarding failure to follow guidelines requiring two midwives to be present during births.