The proportion is much higher among low-income families or those whose parents were born outside Canada.
Around one in 10 babies does not have a family doctor or pediatrician, according to a survey by the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ), with the proportion much higher among low-income families or those whose parents were born outside Canada.
The ISQ report published Wednesday morning shows that 21 per cent of newborns are without a doctor among single-parent families in Quebec, and the proportion is the same for families where both parents (or a single parent) were born outside Canada. Low-income households are also more affected, with 20 per cent of babies living in these households having no doctor.
“This suggests that there are inequalities that start very early in children’s lives. It remains to be seen whether these inequalities will persist over time. We ask the question a few times in our survey, and we’ll be able to track the evolution of this indicator over time,” said Amélie Lavoie, coordinator of content and publications for longitudinal studies at the ISQ, in an interview.
In Quebec, the majority of babies are considered to be in excellent health (72 per cent) by their parents. However, certain family groups seem to be more affected by social inequalities. The proportion of babies perceived as being in poorer health — good, fair or poor — was seven per cent among all families surveyed.
The perception of poorer health is highest among single-parent families (12 per cent) and low-income families (10 per cent).
Lactation on the rise
The proportion of babies being breastfed has risen sharply in Quebec since the late 1990s. The rate of breastfeeding during the first four months of life has risen by 25 percentage points. More specifically, it has risen from 41 per cent for babies born in 1997-1998 to 66 per cent for those born in 2020-2021.
“Given that the Ministry of Health and Social Services has, in recent years, focused on promoting breastfeeding in monitoring plans, they have also implemented the “Baby Friendly Initiative” among other things, which aims to encourage breastfeeding in hospitals. We can assume that all these initiatives and organizations aimed at supporting breastfeeding … have boosted the breastfeeding rate in Quebec,” Lavoie said.
The report also looks at exclusive breastfeeding, i.e. offering breast milk without combining it with other types of liquid or solid foods. The results show that 52 per cent of babies born in hospitals or birthing centres in 2020-2021 were exclusively breastfed at their place of birth. The Ministry of Health and Social Services has set a target of 75 per cent as part of its Baby-Friendly Initiative.
For the first four months of an infant’s life, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding rose from six per cent for babies born in 1997-1998 to 29 per cent for the 2020-2021 sample.
The ISQ report is based on the “Growing Up in Quebec” longitudinal study, which will follow more than 4,000 children born in 2020-2021 until they reach adulthood. A first cohort of babies born in 1997-1998 had undergone the same type of study, making it possible to compare the two groups born almost 25 years apart.
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