Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

Quebec has joined Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Ontario, British Columbia, and Northwest Territories

in formally recognizing perinatal bereavement annually on October 15.

Each year, close to 23,000 families in Quebec experience the loss of a child during pregnancy,

childhood, or the early postnatal period, but society has remained largely unaware of perinatal

bereavement.

Bill 595 was introduced by Liberal MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Désirée McGraw, who has

experienced this type of mourning on more than one occasion, to bring light to this reality among

Quebecers.

“With Bill 595, we have launched a national discussion on perinatal bereavement. In the last 24

hours I’ve been overwhelmed by the personal stories of loss from colleagues, constituents, and

people across Quebec,” McGraw wrote on Facebook following the unanimous passing of the bill

on February 1.

Along with being the proud mother of three boys, McGraw had a daughter named Catherine,

who would have been eight this year. To McGraw and her family, the bill was Catherine’s law.

“This is a key first step, and I feel hopeful that this new law will allow us to implement concrete

measures to support families who have lost a baby,” wrote McGraw.

While the bill aimed to bring awareness to perinatal bereavement, it was not accompanied by any

specific legislative provision to support the thousands of bereaved families in Quebec.

According to a brief by the Centre for Studies and Research on Family Intervention and the

Canada Research Chair, Quebec has lagged on the issue. Quebec’s 2008-2018 perinatal policy

made several recommendations to improve perinatal bereavement awareness and support

families, but medium and long-term support has remained poor.

“A next step is to grant bereavement leave to both parents” said Centre for Studies and Research

on Family Intervention director Francine de Montigny in a press release. “Generally speaking,

fathers experience the same psychological and physical effects of bereavement as mothers … It

is therefore important to look at the needs of fathers who are often more reluctant to seek help.”

For over 20 years, studies have shown perinatal death has real consequences for both parents,

resulting in experiences of heavy loss and intense grief. The loss can have significant deleterious

effects on both men’s and women’s mental health for up to five years later.

“Losing a child is not something from which one recovers, ever, but there are things we can do to

cope better,” McGraw told her National Assembly of Quebec colleagues on January 31. “This

bill is a call to action for our government to provide parents and families in Quebec with crucial

support, both psychosocial and financial.”

Photo caption: Lieutenant Governor for Quebec Manon Jeannotte join Liberal MP for Notre-

Dame-de-Grâce Désirée McGraw and psychotherapist Rosa Caporicci in celebrating the passing

of Bill 595 to recognize October 15 as Quebec Perinatal Bereavement Awareness Day.

Photo credit: Désirée McGraw, Facebook