Quebec Solidaire (QS) MP in Quebec City, Sol Zanetti, is calling for five weeks bereavement leave for both parents in perinatal bereavement, including, therefore, the parent who did not carry the child. This measure would require amending the Québec Parental Insurance Plan and the Act respecting labor standards.
Currently, only the parent who carried the child is entitled to a three-week leave, if the pregnancy is terminated before the start of the 20e week of pregnancy. When the abortion or miscarriage occurs after the start of the 20e week, 18 weeks of unpaid leave is guaranteed to the mother by law, and government benefits are available to her.
However, in the first case, the parent who did not carry the child does not currently benefit from any leave. For the grieving spouse of a pregnancy of more than 20 weeks, the Act respecting labor standards provides for a leave of five days, two days of which must be paid for by the employer.
“Perinatal bereavement is more common than you might think and the resulting suffering is immense. It is a complex and little recognized suffering, which requires that we take a time to rest. Giving bereavement leave for five weeks would cost the government nothing more and would allow bereaved parents to take care of their mental health,” the supportive MP said in a statement on Saturday morning.
The CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’île-de-Montréal explains that perinatal bereavement corresponds to the “mourning experienced by the parents of babies who died during pregnancy (in utero), during childbirth or during the first year following the birth “. Nearly 23,000 families are affected by the death of a baby each year.
There are several possible causes of infant deaths before birth, including miscarriage, medical termination of pregnancy, stillbirth (fetal death) or neonatal death, i.e. after the first four weeks of life. According to the Statistical Institute of Quebec, in 2007, in Quebec, the neonatal mortality rate was 3 per 1000 births.
Online Petition
Mr. Zanetti is also sponsoring a petition that is open online on the National Assembly website until May 25. At the time these lines were written, more than 1,300 people had signed it. A first petition, which garnered more than 12,000 signatures, was also tabled by a group of citizens at the National Assembly last April.
In the text of the petition sponsored by Mr. Zanetti, we can read that “20 to 25% of pregnancies end in a perinatal death” and that “couples experiencing a perinatal death must benefit from a common period of respite to live bereavement of their child.
Isabelle Caron, a worker and trainer in perinatal bereavement at the organization Les Perséides, in Quebec, also testified in the press release of the united deputy. She maintains that “for the parent who did not carry the child, the first months following the loss are decisive, because in addition to being present for their own grief, they must also support the mother in this terrible ordeal”.
“Studies show that the “non-carrier” parent often experiences staggered mourning, which can be postponed for up to 3 years following the loss, also underlines Mr.me Because we. The parent then often finds himself faced with symptoms of depression and exhaustion”.