Cyril V. Pink
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|---|---|
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| Born | 1894 |
| Died | 1965 |
| 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.
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]
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]
