Jeannine Parvati Baker


Jeannine Parvati, 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, 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. 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. She also authored "The Wound Reveals The Cure: A Utah Model For Ending The Cycle of Sexual Mutilation".
Parvati died at home December 1, 2005, aged 56, after a two-year battle with Hepatitis C in Utah.

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