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.
Parvati's first book, Prenatal Yoga & Natural Childbirth, was influenced by ashtanga yogi Baba Hari Dass. Her second, the influential 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.Aviva Jill Romm. The Natural Pregnancy Book: Herbs, Nutrition, and Other Holistic Choices. She is credited with popularizing the practice of lotus birth in the United States.
As a keynote speaker at conferences on genital integrity, Parvati was an advocate for eradicating circumcision.Jeannine Parvati Baker. "The Wound Reveals the Cure": A Utah Model for Ending the Cycle of Sexual Mutilation. 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 She also authored "The Wound Reveals The Cure: A Utah Model For Ending The Cycle of Sexual Mutilation".published in Sexual Mutilations: A Human Tragedy, New York: Plenum Press, 1997 ().
Parvati died at home in Joseph, Utah, on December 1, 2005, aged 56, after a two-year battle with Hepatitis C. Jeannine's friend and sister midwife, Barbara "Babz" Covington held her through to the end.
Works
Various Articles and Book Reviews by Jeannine Parvati on Midwifery & Parenting topics catalogued on the Assn. of Pre & Perinatal Health's webpage.
References