Vancouver mom’s suicide prompts call for inpatient mental health treatment for new mothers and babies

As Mother’s Day approaches, a woman who lost her friend to suicide is pushing for better supports for those suffering from postpartum depression.

Kiri Bird and Jenna Dorman were as close as two friends could be.

“We celebrated every holiday together and vacation together,” said Bird. “We planned our pregnancies together as well. So my son is six weeks younger than hers.”

After the birth of her second baby, Dorman experienced severe postpartum depression.

“She was really struggling with insomnia. And that’s when things really started to escalate. Between the time she told me that she was having suicidal ideation and her first attempt, in my mind it was only a few weeks,” said Bird. “It was extremely disorienting. This isn’t the Jenna we knew.”

It became clear Dorman needed inpatient hospitalization, but she was reluctant to leave her new baby.

“She wanted to bond with her baby, and she wanted to heal. There is nowhere in Canada right now where mothers can be treated for mental health safely with their children,” said Bird. “It’s a huge gap.”

After several hospital stays, in November 2024 Dorman took her own life at the age of 42.

“Jenna’s death was preventable,” said Bird. “If there had been a mother and baby unit where she could have gone and healed for an extended period of time, supervised and supported and felt loved, I believe she would be alive today. And I believe her boys would have their mother.”

While grieving her best friend, Bird knew she had to do something.

“We’ve all been changed by this experience, and it just didn’t feel right to move on with our lives without telling the story, without trying to advocate for something better, and taking our lived experience of trying to navigate the system and inform something that could help a mother in the future,” Bird said.

In honour of her friend, she created “In Her Circle,” an advocacy group that’s fundraising for better postpartum mental health supports.

“We’re so excited to be partnered with the Pacific Postpartum Support Society, who are offering now a drop-in program to eliminate waitlists for postpartum peer group support,” said Bird.

The ultimate goal is a permanent space where new moms could receive inpatient treatment with their babies.

“We are calling for the immediate funding of the perinatal mental health ward at B.C. Women’s (Hospital),” said Bird. “We have an opportunity to be leaders in B.C. We often are on many issues. So really, this campaign, it has a lot of hope. It’s a call to action.”

Next week, Bird is meeting with B.C. Conservative MLA Jody Toor, whose private member’s bill that aims to close gaps for mental health care for pre and postnatal mothers passed unanimously last May.

“Progress has been slow. I think that we’ve known that a mother and baby space for mothers and children to heal together that is specific for mental health has been needed for 20 years. So let’s get it done,” said Bird.

In an email, the Ministry of Health said: “We thank MLA Toor for bringing this bill forward and work on this is actively underway. This includes developing an updated maternity strategy, as well as partnering with Perinatal Services BC, to develop a new perinatal mental health strategy. Both strategies will be comprehensive, holistic, and rooted in a commitment to enhance maternity and reproductive care quality.”

“We’re hopeful that there’s a moment here where people are paying attention and we can do better together,” said Bird. “Jenna created space for women in her life, and I truly believe that this will be her legacy in death, to create this really critical space that we know is needed.”