Jeannine Parvati Baker
Jeannine Parvati (June 1, 1949, North Hollywood, Los Angeles – December 1, 2005, Joseph, Utah), born Jeannine O'Brien, was an anti-circumcision activist, yoga teacher, midwife and author.
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Parvati's first book, Prenatal Yoga & Natural Childbirth, was influenced by ashtanga yogi Baba Hari Dass. Her second, Hygieia: A Woman's Herbal was her master's thesis in psychology at San Francisco State University. Later she co-authored, with her second husband and under the last name Parvati-Baker, Conscious Conception: Elemental Journey through the Labyrinth of Sexuality.
Parvati practiced as a midwife in Sonoma County, California for over ten years, before moving to rural southern Utah where she continued her practice and taught Prenatal Yoga while raising a family. She founded Hygieia College, a mentorship program.[1] She is credited with popularizing the practice of lotus birth in the United States.[2]
As a keynote speaker at conferences on genital integrity, Parvati was an advocate for eradicating circumcision.[3][4] She also authored "The Wound Reveals The Cure: A Utah Model For Ending The Cycle of Sexual Mutilation".[5]
Parvati died at home December 1, 2005, aged 56, after a two-year battle with Hepatitis C in Utah.
Works
- Parvati, Jeannine (2001). Prenatal Yoga and Natural Childbirth. North Atlantic Books-Consumer Hlth; 2nd edition. ISBN 1-55643-382-4.
- Parvati Baker, Jeannine (1986). Conscious Conception: Elemental Journey Through the Labyrinth of Sexuality. North Atlantic Books. ISBN 0-938190-83-0.
- Parvati, Jeannine (1979). Hygieia: A Woman's Herbal. Freestone Publishing Company. ISBN 0-913512-54-0.
- Various Articles and Book Reviews by Jeannine Parvati on Midwifery & Parenting topics catalogued on the Assn. of Pre & Perinatal Health's webpage.
References
- The Natural Pregnancy Book: Herbs, Nutrition, and Other Holistic Choices By Aviva Jill Romm
- Senepathy, Kavin (2018). "Lotus Birth". Skeptical Inquirer. 42 (4): 44–46. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019.
- THE WOUND REVEALS THE CURE: A UTAH MODEL FOR ENDING THE CYCLE OF SEXUAL MUTILATION by Jeannine Parvati Baker, Presented at the Fourth International Symposium on Sexual Mutilations, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, August 9–11, 1996.
- THE SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND MODERN SOCIETY Advancing Human Dignity and the Legal Right to Bodily Integrity in the 21st Century, NOCIRC - National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers
- published in Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy, New York: Plenum Press, 1997 (ISBN 0-306-45589-7).