Quebec woman charged after allegedly abandoning newborn outside

Trois Rivieres Police. SOURCE: Trois Rivieres police/Facebook

A 38-year-old woman was charged after allegedly abandoning her newborn shortly after giving birth outside in Trois-Rivières on New Year's Day.

The woman, whose identity cannot be disclosed due to a publication ban protecting the infant, appeared in court for her bail hearing in Trois-Rivières Tuesday morning after being charged with failing to provide the necessities of life to her baby.

Trois-Rivières police confirmed they received a call shortly after 3 p.m. on Jan. 1 about a woman who had just given birth on the street downtown.

When police arrived on the scene, the baby was being cared for by witnesses who stopped to help. The mother was located by police a few blocks away, and she and the child were taken to hospital. Police said the safety of the woman and the baby were a top priority.

The baby was only exposed to the cold for a few minutes but is still under observation at Sainte-Justine, a children's hospital in Montreal, said police. The woman is being held at the Leclerc detention centre in Laval. 

Karine Dahan, the executive director of Centre Le Havre, said the woman was well-known to all organizations which provide homeless services in the area. She said the woman had used Le Havre's shelter until New Year's Eve and did not know she was pregnant, though she had complained of abdominal pains. 

"This isn't just the story of a homeless woman who gave birth in the street and abandoned her baby," said Dahan.

"To abandon a baby, you first have to be aware of your pregnancy and maternity and decided you don't want it. She did not know she was pregnant, so I can only imagine how surprised — and that word is way too mild — and shocked she must have been to finally have a baby come out of her body." 

Dahan said that while poverty and vulnerability were at play in this woman's case, there are many women who carry pregnancies unknowingly and are then hit with a "tsunami and a trauma" while giving birth unprepared. She added that there are no specialized resources to help isolated women go through their pregnancies in Trois-Rivières like there are in larger cities like Montreal.

A spokesperson for the Mauricie et du Centre-du-Québec health authority told The Canadian Press it could not comment on the health of the mother or infant for privacy reasons.

"While these situations are rare, they've very upsetting," the authority wrote, noting that there are resources available to support vulnerable people, including pregnant women and parents struggling to care for children.

Lawyers defending the 38-year-old requested she undergo a psychiatric evaluation to assess her criminal responsibility and that she be transferred to the Sainte-Thérèse mental health centre in Shawinigan. She will be back in court Feb. 4. 

The woman could face more charges and the release hearing, which was due to take place on Tuesday, has been postponed.

With files from Noovo Info and The Canadian Press