I can speak on our regional bereavement services that are available in the Edmonton area and beyond. Alberta Health Services has helped work with different organizations to create a path for families to make it a little bit easier.
One of the things that happens is, when you lose the baby, there is a package given to you, whether your baby is born at home, in the hospital, in the emergency room or wherever. This package includes one or two pages that have the support groups listed and what is available in terms of benefits, etc., so that families don't have to search for this. They don't have to try to find it online, because it's not always easy to find it online.
Each family is given a memory box, footprints, handprints, clippings of baby's hair and a teddy bear that we donate through our various programs and our walks. There are offers of counselling and there are offers of support after families have gone home. There is some continued support. People still sometimes fall through the cracks, but it's at least a beginning, and they're trying to expand that throughout our province in different regions. I know that is happening.
I'd like to see something Canada-wide where our support groups are connected so that we're all providing the same type of support so that families, from whatever region they live in, can rely on knowing what is available and so that the service employees will also know what is available out there.
I want to touch on the point that giving birth, whether it is at six weeks, 12 weeks, 22 weeks or 42 weeks and beyond is a physical experience. Part of that benefit we're talking about, the time that we're talking about, should include some physical.... I don't know how to explain it, but mother's milk is still produced. Your body doesn't know that your baby has died. There are still all of those physical discomforts, and that should be included as part of that benefit.