Support for bereavement bill encouraging By: Editorial Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 21, 2023

Opinion

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This article was published 21/04/2023 (870 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pregnancy loss can be an incredibly difficult and painful experience, both physically and emotionally. It’s also a very common one. Around one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage.

That’s why it’s encouraging that an NDP bill advocating for paid bereavement leave for parents who have experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth seems to be receiving support from all sides of the House.

NDP MLA Amanda Lathlin’s Bill 210 passed second reading last week with a vote of 45-0. All Tory MLAs in the chamber supported the private member’s bill, which would allow parents to take up to three days of paid leave following a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Unpaid bereavement days bill passes second reading

A miscarriage is typically defined as a loss prior to 20 weeks gestation while stillbirth is a loss post 20 weeks gestation. Miscarriage is the most common pregnancy complication.

The bill follows a similar policy enacted in New Zealand, where parents can also take three days of paid bereavement leave.

In Canada, if a pregnancy ends before week 20, one could receive sickness benefits. If a pregnancy ends in week 20 or later, one could receive maternity benefits, but not parental benefits. Paid pregnancy loss leave for federal employees was also part of the Liberal government’s 2023 budget.

There is no full wage replacement available for birthing parents in Manitoba and no paid leave for their partners.

Despite being a common experience, pregnancy loss is still shrouded in stigma, shame and silence which can make it even harder to navigate.

Pregnancy loss can be excruciatingly lonely. Because most miscarriages happen in the first trimester, pregnant people are often cautioned against telling family, friends and colleagues before they are at the 12- or 13-week mark, which means someone going through a first-trimester miscarriage may not be getting the support, emotional and otherwise, they need.

And even if a pregnancy makes it past that point, a loss could still happen — and leaving a hospital without a baby is already a traumatic enough experience without well-meaning colleagues inquiring about a due date at the water cooler.

It acknowledges that pregnancy loss is something that requires space and time to heal physically and psychologically – time that is not vacation time or sick leave or maternity leave.

Meanwhile, broader cultural — and, to be sure, political — discussions around reproductive care tend to focus heavily on either birth or abortion, and less so on pregnancy loss, which creates a vacuum of awareness, knowledge and, in some cases, care — even though all three are common experiences in childbearing. Abortion bans in the U.S., for example, can affect care for patients experiencing a miscarriage, since the surgical procedures and medications, such as mifepristone, are the same for both.

From a labour perspective, while some workplaces grant time off to employees experiencing pregnancy loss, not all do, so formal legislation empowers people to take the time they need.

Paid bereavement leave for pregnancy loss is not only a material support for parents. It also goes a long way in validating their experiences — however they look. It acknowledges that pregnancy loss is something that requires space and time to heal physically and psychologically — time that is not vacation time or sick leave or maternity leave. And that acknowledgment could create more awareness of — and, hopefully, more openness about — pregnancy loss.

Now, it’s up to all MLAs to pass this sensible, compassionate bill into law. Three days is not that much to ask.