"My uterus is the universe ~ I am the stargate. As mother, I am the means by which life creatively expresses itself and giving freebirth is akin to the origin of stars."
- Jeannine Parvati Baker, 1949-2005

Jeannine Parvati Baker was an amazing wild woman - mother, midwife, herbalist, yogini, astrologer, author, teacher, and mentor. As a young woman learning about herbs, women's wisdom, fertility, and midwifery I was greatly inspired by Jeannine's books "Conscious Conception", "Hygeia: A Women's Herbal" and "Prenatal Yoga and Natural Childbirth".

I had the joy of meeting Jeannine Parvati Baker in 2001 in Hartford, Conneticut and receiving a meaningful consultation with her. She looked at my astrological chart and immediately encouraged me to write and teach about birth, women's health, and conscious living - to integrate wisdom and teachings from different paths and to share with the world through words and media.

I told her of a dream that I had vividly experienced of being before a council of grandmother midwives and choosing a rattle and a drum to play while we telepathically all played music together while a woman labored freely nearby, just supported by our conscious sacred rhythms. Jeannine shared that this was a shamanic midwifery initiation and that the rattle and drum were the ancient tools of shamans and midwives. The rattle represents the baby's heartbeat and the drum represents the mother's heartbeat.

For years we stayed in touch by email, Jeannine would always respond with helpful suggestions if I encountered situations in my conscious birthing work and would sometimes publish little bits of my emails to her on her site as quotes from her student, though I never officially attended her women's wisdom school. Yet Jeannine was my mentor in the wise women traditions of Conscious Conception, Conscious Birthing, Freebirth, Women's Herbalism, and Holistic Family Living. I am so grateful for her inspiration, writings, and teachings.

Jeannine has inspired Birthkeepers all around the planet to share the wisdom and empowerment of ecological, spiritual, and conscious conception, fertility, birthing, parenting, homeschooling, freebirth, yoga, meditation, herbal healing, natural medicine, and more. Thank you for all that you shared! The fires are still burning, the wisdom of the grandmother midwives is still alive. My passion in sharing Conscious Birthing and Family Arts through the Garden of Birth and beyond is dedicated to Jeannine.

"Pre & perinatal psychology cares for the deep ecology of the family through conscious conception and freebirth, soul-making partnerships at source. Healing one mother is healing our earth." - Jeannine Parvati Baker

It is time for a unification of people dedicated to supporting, honoring, and uplifting the field of Conscious Birthing for the health of babies, mothers, families, communities, the planet, and the future of humanity.

It is evident that the primal period from preconception to age 3 is a critical time in the emerging life of a human for the blueprint for lifelong physical, emotional, psychology, and spiritual health to be established. The gentle and loving nurturing of a new life during the primal period establishes the human's ability to receive and express love throughout their life, to relieve stress, and to bond deeply with family, friends, loved ones, and nature.

Furthermore, the consciously received baby grows up to have the deeply creative resources within to find conscious solutions for the growing issues of the modern world. It is our imperative to nurture conscious children, for they are the peacemakers for our planet, essential for the longevity and vitality of the continuation of the human race and all life on our Mother Earth. They are our hope for a world of peace and love for the generations to come.

It is time to practice tolerance and respect for the diversity of families and traditional birthing practices in our global family. Let us learn traditional birthing wisdom from our elders and heritage, and integrate traditional wisdom with modern science, medicine and healing arts.

Communities shall support the practices of Homebirth, Waterbirth, Doula Care, Midwifery Care, Family-Centered Birthing, Breastfeeding Support, Natural Healing, and Parent-Infant Bonding Support as being part of the continuum of Community Birthing Services. In addition to these practices families should have access to nature, pure food and water, ample exercise, fresh air, supportive community, and positive information. All of these factors increase the health and happiness of the children born into our families.

We honor the right for parents to have fully informed choice in choosing their right care provider, and have the right to birth at home, in birth center, or hospital if they choose. All mothers should have the right to a birth assistant with them in labor, as well as the father. All fathers should be well-supported in being the primary birth partner for the mother in labor, and their privacy and intimacy should be honored and respected. Families have the right to birth independently and consciously in alignment with the highest expression of the baby's soul expression.

May all mothers, fathers, babies, and families be supported with love and community to birth in peace. May Conscious Birthing be the sustaining paradigm of birth for the emergence of a gentle humanity. May the Birthkeepers be guided, supported, and empowered to cocreate the highest vision and vibration of Conscious Birth for our children today and always.