Immigrant women in Quebec City are calling for improved translation services in hospitals during childbirth. This call comes after a series of complaints about a lack of adequate interpretation for English-speaking patients, particularly during critical moments such as labor and delivery.
The director of the Quebec Women’s Immigrant Perinatal Reference Centre, Marielle M’Bangha, expressed her concern that patients may undergo medical procedures without fully understanding what is happening. She emphasized that understanding the care process during childbirth is fundamental and that informed consent is essential for patient rights.
According to Quebec law, English speakers have the right to access services in English, and hospitals are obligated to provide translation services. However, the availability of interpreters depends on factors such as resources, funding, and staffing at healthcare facilities. M’Bangha hopes that the staff at the CHU de Québec, affiliated with the Université Laval, can systematically provide interpretation services and translate consent forms and other critical documents.
“Understanding the care process is fundamental,” M’Bangha said. “It’s crucial that patients have a clear understanding before giving consent for medical treatments. Without clear communication, patients cannot make fully informed choices.”
The need for interpreters has grown significantly. Data from the Quebec Health Ministry reveals that requests for interpreters more than doubled between 2020 and 2025, with Spanish representing 35% of those requests, while English accounted for only 0.86%. This discrepancy highlights the challenges faced by English-speaking patients in obtaining proper translation services.
One particularly striking case occurred last year, when an English-speaking mother, Mary, underwent an emergency C-section and spent a week in the hospital without receiving any translation services. Despite requesting an interpreter, the hospital staff provided only a French consent form and proceeded with the surgery, warning her of the urgency. Mary, who spoke little French, felt that the medical staff did not ensure she fully understood the situation.
“I felt like they didn’t care at all. They didn’t give me time to process anything, and I didn’t understand the forms I was signing,” Mary said. “After my baby was born, I didn’t know if he was alive or dead. They moved him to another hospital, and I wasn’t informed of anything.”
Volunteers from organizations that support immigrant women, such as Hélène Lepage, regularly visited Mary during her hospital stay, acting as interpreters. Lepage witnessed staff making efforts to communicate in English but observed instances where care was provided without clear explanations.
“Staff would offer care but didn’t really explain what they were doing,” Lepage recalled. “There were times I had to ask for an interpreter and documentation in English.”
The situation has raised alarms, particularly regarding the lack of English-language documents such as pre- and post-operative instructions and consent forms. Brigitte Wellens, president of the English-speaking community’s regional access committee for healthcare services, stated that such incidents should not occur.
“Someone should have raised a red flag and made sure that the patient fully understood what was happening,” Wellens said. “This is not just an issue of translation; it’s a matter of ensuring that patients can make informed decisions about their care.”
M’Bangha filed an official complaint to the CHU de Québec on behalf of Mary. The hospital acknowledged mistakes in her care but declined to comment further, citing confidentiality concerns. The incident occurred before the province took over the management of interpreters, a shift that was intended to improve access to translation services. However, M’Bangha noted that her organization has not seen any noticeable improvement in interpreter availability for English-speaking mothers since the policy change.
“Access to interpreters is still a challenge,” M’Bangha said. “If English speakers are facing obstacles, it’s even more difficult for mothers from other regions, such as the Central African Republic.”
Wellens also pointed out that hospitals rarely translate key documents, and she believes the difficulty in accessing healthcare in languages other than French is a public health issue. Misunderstandings of diagnoses or lack of information on how to care for oneself at home can lead to complications and require additional care.
The situation remains unresolved, with immigrant women in Quebec City continuing to push for better language access in hospitals, ensuring that all patients—regardless of their primary language—are treated with the respect and care they deserve.
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