Published 10 hours ago • loading... • Updated 8 hours ago

Nearly half of VCH maternal deaths within a year of birth caused by overdose: report

On Thursday, April 16, 2026, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority released a report identifying drug-related overdose as the leading cause of maternal death in the region.
Substance use during pregnancy has risen within VCH since 2015, coinciding with years following the 2016 provincial declaration of a public health emergency related to overdose deaths.
Data from 2010 to 2024 shows 11 fatal overdoses among 25 maternal deaths in a population of about 120 people per year using illegal drugs in pregnancy, yielding a death rate of 855 per 100,000 births.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Patricia Daly called the findings "actually shocking," while medical health officer Dr. Althea Hayden noted "nearly one per cent of both mothers and babies in this group die each year."
Hayden urged expanding integrated, trauma-informed prenatal services and stated "these outcomes are preventable" and "should not be acceptable to Canadians.

Insights by Ground AI

22 Articles

B.C. report details ‘tragedy’ of maternal, infant deaths linked to toxic drugs

Overdose has become the leading cause of maternal death in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, according to a new report that raises the alarm about the “serious and preventable harms” experienced by some of B.C.’s most vulnerable mothers.

10 hours ago·Canada

Read Full Article

The Toronto Star

+19 Reposted by 19 other sources

Lean Left

Nearly half of VCH maternal deaths within a year of birth caused by overdose: report

VANCOUVER - A new report says drug-related overdoses are now the leading cause of maternal death among residents in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority within a year of giving birth.

11 hours ago·Toronto, Canada

Read Full Article