B.C. bill on perinatal, postnatal mental health care receives rare unanimous support

British Columbia's politicians have found rare common ground and given unanimous support in the legislature to a private member's bill proposing universal access to mental health care for pregnant women and new mothers.

The Opposition B.C. Conservatives say the proposal by caucus chair Jody Toor is the first private member's bill to pass second reading with unanimous support in a recorded vote in 43 years.

Bill 204 would give the government a year to create a strategy including universal access to perinatal and postnatal mental health care.

Among the 91 legislators who voted in favour on Monday were those from the governing NDP, the B.C. Conservatives, the Greens and three former Conservatives who left the party last week and sit as Independents.

Toor said that she struggled to get pregnant — and when she did, health challenges left her in a constant state of fear and anxiety.

"The stigma and fear of mental health is something we have to openly talk about and discuss, and give women that support," she told CBC News.

Toor said that a lot of women were "suffering in silence," and she was proud of her colleagues in the legislature for understanding the urgency of her bill.

"I believe that no women, no family, no community should have to ever feel isolated and not feel like they have the support when they need it, where they need it," the Langley-Willowbrook MLA said.

Vancouver-Langara NDP MLA Sunita Dhir expressed support for the bill on the floor of the legislature on Monday.

"The well-being of new and expectant parents, as well as their families, is a fundamental priority for our government," she said.

The B.C. Conservatives say in a statement that the broad support for the bill reflects a shared commitment to addressing perinatal and postnatal mental health and ensuring no parent feels alone.

The bill will still need to be studied by a committee, then pass third reading and receive royal assent before it could come into effect.

There are 93 seats in the legislature. The NDP's Grace Lore has cancer and has stepped away from her duties, while the party's Ravi Chouhan occupies the Speaker's chair.

Adrienne Carruthers, board chair of the Midwives Association of B.C., said there were very long wait times for services like perinatal psychiatry in B.C.

"Those are pretty significant gaps though, waiting for three months for services or longer," she said.

"It's easy to recognize that this is an area where the system isn't really serving people, pregnant people, postpartum people and their families," she added.