Royal Alexandra Hospital • 2017
In its three years, Pregnancy Pathways proudly saw:
Every year, approximately 100 women in Edmonton experience homelessness while pregnant. Due to a variety of factors such as struggles with mental health and addiction, precarious housing, lack of knowledge about available prenatal services, and more, many pregnant women facing homelessness do not receive adequate prenatal care.
To help address this issue, the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation joined with 25 other community partners to help establish Pregnancy Pathways in 2017. The program provided women with their own dedicated apartment, 24/7 staffing and on-site supports, pre-natal and post-natal care, a gathering space to build community and foster peer support, and wellness coordinators who worked with clients to help build life and parenting skills. All supports were provided from a harm-reduction, strengths-based and trauma-informed perspective.
“The Pregnancy Pathways home is the best thing that ever happened to me. The other women here and the staff became my family when I had no one else. This program changed my life.”
In its three-year run, Pregnancy Pathways made long-lasting, positive impacts on the lives of the women who participated in the program, and of course their babies. The average time spent in the program before delivery was 64 days, meaning new moms enjoyed two full months of stability before giving birth—not to mention the time spent afterward, safely resting and recovering. And as the program's goal is to transition pregnant women and new moms into a more stable situation in terms of both health and housing, the program proudly made 103 referrals for women into a variety of additional supports and community programs.
In total, Pregnancy Pathways witnessed the healthy births of 25 healthy babies (16 boys and nine girls), saw 16 women “graduate” from the program and helped 10 more clients transition to independent living, with the support of wellness coordinators and other program staff.
To the Boyle McCauley Health Centre, the Cliff Lede Family Charitable Foundation, the Edmonton Public Teachers' Charity Trust Fund, the Edmonton Regional Neonatologists, the Matty & Betty-Jean Baldwin Foundation, the Allan & Sally Sawin Foundation, the McCuaig Desrochers Centennial Fund, the Shelley & Guy Scott Family Foundation, and the William & Florence Lede Family Foundation, a heartfelt thank you for your massive contributions to Pregnancy Pathways – the program wouldn’t exist without your support!
Thank you as well to the wonderful souls who took it upon themselves to give significant individual donations: Maureen Bell, Dr. Eric P. and Diane Estey, Judith Hockney, Dr. John T. Lilley, Dr. Joan Robinson and Dr. Robert Seal, Dr. Ameeta Singh, and one generous anonymous donor.
And last but not least, thank you to our generous donors of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation and our 25 community partners for helping provide life-changing programs like Pregnancy Pathways.
Click here for a full list of our donors.
