Homeless woman gives birth in abandoned Cambridge factory

A homeless woman and her newborn baby girl are recovering in hospital after the woman gave birth in an abandoned factory in Cambridge.

Police were called to the building at 201 Beverly St. at 2:07 p.m. Monday after receiving information a woman had given birth there. Police and paramedics were able to locate the woman and her newborn and the two were taken to Cambridge Memorial Hospital.

The woman and her baby appear to be in good health, police said.

No heat, water or electricity

There was no heat, water or electricity in the empty factory. On Monday, Environment Canada had issued a snow squall watch for Waterloo Region and the wind chill factor dipped to -20.

Police said the woman's home address is unknown.

The building owner and bylaw officers have been contacted tosecurethe building.Family and Children Services was alsocontacted, police said.

• Pregnant Montrealer left to walk in cold after car towed

"We would encourage anyone to seek a proper medical facility to avoid any complications for the mother or the child during the birth of a child," Staff Sgt. Michael Haffner said in an e-mail to CBC News.

However that can sometimes be easier said than done, according to Waterloo Regional councilor Elizabeth Clarke, who also works as the CEO of YWCA Kitchener-Waterloo.

'It may have been her best option'

"It may have been her best option at the time," Clarke said Wednesday. "It may have been a decision that she made because she wasn't able to act on better options."

Clarke, whose organization runs a 60-bed emergency shelter for women over the age of 16in downtown Kitchener, said the problem of homelessness is becoming increasingly common in Waterloo Region, especially among women with children.

"Back in the 90s, I used to work for Children's Aid," she said. "Back in those days family homelessness was such a rare thing that if we got a report of a woman coming into a shelter with a child, we would be investigating to see if there was a capacity issue."

"Now it's so common that it doesn't raise the flags that it used to because we see it in a different way. We don't see homeless children as an anomaly anymore; we see it as just a part of our society."

"I think that's something that we should be even more concerned about than the occasional birth," she said.

The woman had reportedly visited The Bridges shelter in the past. Cambridge Shelter Corporation executive director Christine Kecser said they had no comment.

'It's very shocking'

"I was very disturbed by the case,"Lyndsey Butcher, the head of Planned ParenthoodWaterloo Region, said Wednesday. "From what's been reported [in the media], it's very shocking."

Butcher's organizationprovides publicsexual educationand support forwomen facing unplanned pregnancies. She says she's not familiar with the details of the woman's case, but Butcher says while it's shocking, it's not unexpected that a pregnant woman would find herself homeless in Waterloo Region.

"Women facing unplanned pregnancies face quite a bit of stigma in our community and there are quite a few barriers to accessing care," she said. "I can't even imagine the kind of barriers a woman facing homelessness would face."

Butcher said half of all pregnancies in Canada are unplanned, but youngwomen are particularly vulnerable, especially if their parents see the pregnancy as a blemish on the family's honour.

Homeless pregnant woman'incredibly brave'

"We do know from the girls and the young women that we support that often times they come from families that are very strict and cannot handle the idea of their daughter being pregnant outside of a marriage in most cases," she said. "So it's really the embarrassmentand the shame."

However, Butcher said the homeless woman's actions shows she has nothing to be ashamed about.

"It is incredibly brave," she said. "I think that a lot women who face unplanned pregnancies are quite brave and whatever option they decide to do with their pregnancy, it's a harrowing experience for many women and that's why we're here at Planned Parenthood is to really support these women."

"Often we're the only people they can talk to," she said, noting anyone who might be facing an unplanned pregnancy alonecan easily book an appointment to talkto someone withPlanned Parenthood's pregnancy options support team by calling 519-743-9360.