Doubling prenatal benefit will improve lives of moms, babies: families minister

Manitoba is doubling the prenatal benefit to a maximum credit of $162.82 per month.

The benefit aims to make healthy food more affordable for pregnant women and to connect them with early prenatal care and resources, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine told a news conference Wednesday at Healthy Start, a community program that offers prenatal and parenting supports.

The increase was announced April 2 in the provincial budget. The government is working on its implementation over the next two months, said Fontaine. Doubling the maximum prenatal benefit is expected to cost an additional $800,000, she said.

Fontaine said the increase is long overdue; while the cost of living has increased since the prenatal benefit was introduced nearly 20 years ago, the monthly support for expecting mothers has not.

Doubling the amount is in keeping with the NDP’s election promise to make life more affordable, as well as improving health outcomes for moms and babies, said Fontaine, adding she benefited from the program when she was a student and expecting her first son.

“This is a program near and dear to my heart,” she said.

She recalled being down to her last $5 when her prenatal benefit cheque arrived in the mail. It helped make sure she could eat and stay in school, she said.

Healthy Start executive director Davorka Monti said pregnancy is a time when some people decide to make positive changes in their lives.

“Many people have told us how essential the prenatal benefit has been for them. With rising costs, this increase comes at a time when many people are finding it difficult to manage their food budget, especially when they’re eating for two,” Monti said.

“When we support pregnancy, it ultimately leads to healthy babies. It’s a win-win for all of Manitoba.”

To be eligible for the benefit, recipients must fill out an application form and provide a medical note from their health-care provider confirming their pregnancy and expected due date.

The amount recipients receive is based on their income, with monthly payments starting in the second trimester of pregnancy until the month the baby is due.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca