B.C. promotes breastfeeding for infants in government care after court ruling
VICTORIA — The British Columbia government has outlined a five-point plan to promote breastfeeding and stronger mother-child bonds for infants who are in provincial care.
The plan based on a report from the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the representative for children and youth is intended to support vulnerable women and their infants. Resources for the plan will be allocated as needed, said a statement from the ministry, which described it as a priority that the government will address in its budget next year and beyond.
The province developed the plan after a B.C. Supreme Court ruling in February, which gave a mother daily access to her newborn, who was taken away three days after birth.
“It’s a ruling we took seriously,” Katrine Conroy, the minister of children and family development, said on Wednesday. “We needed to take a closer look, not at an isolated incident, but as a matter of ministry policy.”