'Jenna died on a wait-list': Loved ones push for specialized postpartum psych care in B.C.

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A Statistics Canada survey released in February found that 17 per cent of B.C. mothers and birthing parents in 2024 who struggled with their mental health during pregnancy or after giving birth couldn’t get the care they needed.

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B.C.’s Perinatal and Postnatal Mental Health Strategy Act, which received royal assent on May 29, 2025, requires the health minister to develop a strategy supporting perinatal and postnatal mental health. The minister must consider measures to improve access to care, expand community services, increase provider training, and reduce barriers to treatment.

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The B.C. NDP announced its support for the proposed unit on Tuesday as part of its provincewide women’s health strategy for the election campaign. Premier David Eby said a re-elected NDP government would cover the operating funding for the unit.

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Bird is urging other parties to make the same commitment, saying access to specialized care should not depend on which party is in power.

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“This is not just one party’s issue. It’s every party’s issue,” she said.

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The B.C. Greens went further than the B.C. NDP’s commitment to the unit, saying it would provide provincial funding to both establish and operate the unit.

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“B.C. Women’s Health Foundation has done incredible work building public support and raising funds, but the ongoing costs of acute care shouldn’t depend on donations. The province has a responsibility to make sure this unit is fully resourced, sustained, and able to grow.”

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The party also criticized the NDP for not releasing a costed plan detailing the government’s contribution.

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“So far, the NDP hasn’t released a costed plan showing what government will actually contribute. Families deserve that clarity, and a B.C. Green government would provide it,” the Greens told Postmedia in a statement.

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B.C. Conservatives did not say whether they would fund the proposed unit if elected. Instead, the party criticized the NDP’s health care record and said it would focus on keeping maternity wards and emergency rooms open, hiring more doctors and nurses, and supporting rural medical practices at risk of closing, as well as pledging $50 million for an emergency fund.

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“After nine years of failure, people deserve better than desperate election promises from David Eby and the B.C. NDP,” the party said in a statement to Postmedia.

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Dorman had not experienced postpartum depression after the birth of her first child. But within three or four months of giving birth to her second, her mental health deteriorated rapidly.

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“She became acutely suicidal within a span of months,” Bird said. “None of us saw it coming.”

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Fearing she would be separated from her newborn, Dorman delayed seeking help, Bird said. When she eventually went to Vancouver General Hospital’s emergency department, she waited five days in an ER bed before being admitted to a psychiatric ward for several days. She was later discharged before being readmitted.

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Her family and friends brought her meals, accompanied her to psychologist appointments, and searched for in-patient postpartum mental health services, Bird said. Waits for even basic postpartum supports were four to six months.

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“Jenna was loved, she was advocated for, but when it came down to needing acute crisis support, that support was not there,” Bird told Postmedia.

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“Jenna died on a wait-list,” said Bird. “She never got into a postpartum support group in this province.”