News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 13, 2026
A Canadian first for mothers and babies: David Eby commits to perinatal mental health unit in BC
In Her Circle applauds the first party leader to back care that will save lives and set a model for the rest of the country.
VANCOUVER, BC – In Her Circle welcomes today’s commitment by BC NDP Leader David Eby to fund the operation of Canada’s first Mother and Baby Perinatal Mental Health Unit at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre. Mr. Eby is the first party leader in British Columbia’s provincial election to make the commitment. The commitment puts British Columbia on course to open the first unit of its kind in the country.
Perinatal mental health challenges affect a significant number of families in BC. One in four mothers will experience a mental health challenge during pregnancy or in the first year postpartum. In BC, about 175 of those cases become acute and require hospitalization each year. No hospital in Canada currently provides that care without separating a mother from her baby. The new unit would change that by admitting mother and baby together, so that she can recover with her child beside her.
“Every family in BC deserves mental health care that keeps parent and baby together. That bond is part of recovery, not a distraction from it,” said Kiri Bird, Co-Founder and Executive Director of In Her Circle.
In Her Circle is a BC-based nonprofit founded in memory of Jenna Dorman, a Vancouver mother of two who died by suicide in 2024, following a severe postpartum mental illness. The organization’s name invites us all to step into the circles of care needed to support new mothers and families experiencing postpartum.
“We push for timely, compassionate perinatal mental health care, with a focus on preventing maternal suicide. A mother-baby unit is exactly that kind of care,” says Bird, who was a close friend of Dorman’s. “The unit at BC Women’s is a milestone that In Her Circle hopes will become a model for other provinces to follow.”
This first-of-its-kind unit is a partnership between philanthropy and government. BC Women’s Health Foundation is raising funds from donors to renovate an existing space at the hospital for the unit. Mr. Eby’s commitment covers the operating funding, to be confirmed in Budget 2027 if his party forms government. With both in place, the unit at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre could open its doors to families as early as 2028.
Perinatal mental health has recently brought every party in the Legislature together. Bill M 204, the Perinatal and Postnatal Mental Health Strategy Act, passed with unanimous support at every stage. More than 3,500 British Columbians have signed In Her Circle’s Close the Gap petition in support of the unit.
In Her Circle has shared the same costed proposal with every party. Mr. Eby is the first to commit, and the organization invites BC Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson and BC Green Leader Emily Lowan to make the same public commitment before election day on October 24.
“We welcome this commitment and look forward to working with whoever forms government and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre to change the standard of care for perinatal mental health in BC,” said Bird. “Standing up for mothers and babies is what leadership looks like, and every party has the chance to show it.”
British Columbians can add their names to the Close the Gap petition at inhercircle.ca/takeaction.
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To learn more about Jenna’s postpartum story watch For Jenna — a short film about love and community, and the limits of both against a system not built to hold mothers and babies together.