The mother of an infant found tragically deceased in Victoria this week has been located and is receiving medical care and support, police said Friday.
The newborn was found dead in a parking lot in the 700 block of Bay Street on Wednesday evening. An autopsy completed Friday morning concluded the baby died of natural causes.
“The circumstances are still under investigation by VicPD’s Major Crimes Unit and further details cannot be shared at this time,” the Victoria Police Department said in a news release.
Meanwhile, the incident is sparking calls for more support for expectant mothers. Speaking with Global News on Friday, women’s advocates on Vancouver Island highlighted a gap in care for pregnant women and new moms.
Cridge Supportive Housing and Family Services manager Candace Stretch said there is transition housing in Victoria for women who need help, who have children, or who are expecting a child. The organization also has a young mother outreach program.
All of them have waitlists, she added.
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“Every single one of those programs is looking at delays at trying to get services in place, and that’s really what I fear for this woman — there was a gap, or there was just that knowledge that she was aware of what was out there,” she said.
“I do think we need a lot more services,” Stretch said. “And more than that, we need housing.”
The Our Place Society provides support and resources in Greater Victoria for anyone struggling with homelessness, mental health challenges, substance use issues, and more. Its communications director, Grant McKenzie, said all the organization’s staff have been advised to keep an eye out for anyone in the community who may be in distress.
“You don’t want to see any mother feel like she’s been forced into that situation where she doesn’t feel like she can get the help that she needs, and I’m extremely concerned about her health – her mental health and her physical health,” he said.
On mainland B.C., a program called The Angel’s Cradle at St. Paul’s Hospital — spearheaded by Dr. Geoffrey Cundiff — provides an anonymous bassinet where new mothers can leave an infant that they do not believe they can care for.
An automated system alerts nurses at the hospital, who will take custody of the child until the Ministry of Children and Family Development can find a suitable family to foster or adopt the baby.
The mother is permitted to leave with no questions asked.
“As long as they’re healthy, there are no questions asked, no one stops them, they can leave,” Cundiff told Global News in 2020.
However, no such program exists on Vancouver Island.
Stretch said she would like to see some of the services that are available in the Lower Mainland also be made available in other areas of the province, including the island.
“Certainly we have programs that happen in the Lower Mainland that aren’t here and also, certainly Northern B.C. is another place that needs those types of supports.”
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