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Cyril V. Pink

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Cyril V. Pink
Born1894
Died1965
Occupation(s)Obstetrician, writer

Cyril Valentine Pink (1894–1965) M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. was a British obstetrician, naturopath, Theosophist, and vegetarianism activist. Pink was an early medical advocate of natural childbirth. He was the co-founder of Stonefield Maternity Home and was a disciple of Maximilian Bircher-Benner.

Biography

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Pink qualified MRCS and LRCP in 1917 from St Thomas' Hospital.[1] He was House Surgeon at St. Thomas Hospital and General Lying-in Hospital, York Road. In 1920, Pink co-founded Stonefield Maternity Home in Blackheath, London with Dr. William H. White.[2][3] Pink was a specialist in obstetrics for many years at Stonefield Maternity Home.[1][4] He conducted clinical trials on babies at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and the Stonefield Maternity Home.

Pink was concerned about animal welfare and was an anti-vivisectionist.[4][5] He defended naturopathy and was influenced by the dietary views of Maximilian Bircher-Benner.[2][6][7]

Pink was a theosophist and lectured at Bath Theosophical Lodge.[2][8][9] He admitted he was on the fringe when it came to medicine and held unorthodox opinions about disease.[6] For example, he believed in the existence of etheric matter that forms part of the physical body but etheric dirt can damage the etheric body.[10] Pink believed that infectious diseases were the result of etheric dirt damaging the etheric body from disobedience of nature's laws. He advocated methods of natural hygiene such as consuming a vegetarian diet, drinking water, keeping good sanitation and taking in pure air.[10]

His brother Wilfred Langrish Pink was an otolaryngologist in South Africa.[11]

Vegetarianism

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At Stonefield Maternity Home, Pink advised all his patients to be vegetarian.[12] Pink promoted a lacto-vegetarian diet rich in fruit and uncooked vegetables as a matter of routine in pregnancy.[12] He argued that vitamin B is best obtained from wholemeal bread and wheat germ.[12] He stated that a vegetarian diet offered a high degree of immunity from two serious complications of childbirth, toxemia of pregnancy (pre-eclampsia) and sepsis.[12] He reported successful results of children doing well on a plant-based diet under his care that were featured in The Vegan magazine.[13]

Pink lectured on vegetarianism.[14] In 1939, he became President of the Croydon Vegetarian Society.[15] He was Secretary of the Somerset Vegetarian Society.[16]

Selected publications

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References

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  1. ^ a b The Medical Directory 1965. J. & A. Churchill, Limited. p. 1910
  2. ^ a b c Moscucci, O (2003). "Holistic obstetrics: the origins of "natural childbirth" in Britain". Postgraduate Medical Journal. 79 (929): 168–173. doi:10.1136/pmj.79.929.168. PMC 1742649. PMID 12697920.
  3. ^ "Stonefield Maternity Home". Lost Hospitals of London. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society v Commissioners of Inland Revenue(1) (1950-1952) 32 TC 55". Library.croneri.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  5. ^ Impounded Animals for Educational Purposes. Washington, 1949. p. 197
  6. ^ a b "The Spectator Archive" (November 11, 1960). p. 13
  7. ^ "Dr. M. Bircher-Benner". The British Medical Journal. 1 (4075): 307. 1939.
  8. ^ Leslie-Smith, L. H. (1987). 100 Years of Modern Occultism. Theosophical History Centre. p. 4
  9. ^ Food that Will Change the World!. Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette (March 22, 1941). p. 7
  10. ^ a b Vegetarian Society. Surrey Mirror (6 June 1930). p. 4
  11. ^ "Wilfred Langrish Pink (1889 - 1950)". Royal College of Surgeons of England. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d "11th IVU World Vegetarian Congress 1947 Stonehouse, England". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  13. ^ Cole, Matthew. 'The Greatest cause on earth': The historical formation of veganism as an ethical practice. In Nik Taylor, Richard Twine. (2014). The Rise of Critical Animal Studies: From the Margins to the Centre. Routledge. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-415-85857-1
  14. ^ "11th IVU World Vegetarian Congress 1947 Stonehouse, England. International Vegetarian Union.
  15. ^ "Dr. Pink New President of Croydon Society." Croydon Advertiser and East Surrey Reporter (January 13, 1939). p. 20
  16. ^ Vegetarian Lecture. Central Somerset Gazette (March 25, 1955). p. 2
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