Dr. Marc-Antoine Pigeon was finishing up a busy overnight shift when he was informed that paramedics were en route with an unresponsive newborn discovered at a bus shelter in Longueuil, Quebec, early Monday morning. The atmosphere swiftly shifted, according to the emergency physician at Charles-Le Moyne Hospital. “All the exhaustion and negativity from the night vanished, and the thought of our beds disappeared,” he expressed.
Paramedics were trying to resuscitate the newborn as they rushed the baby to the hospital, coinciding with Dr. Camille Tétreault beginning her day shift. She quickly joined the team of over 15 individuals working to revive the infant. The newborn, still connected to the placenta, was found naked and extremely cold when first responders located them shortly after 6:30 a.m. ET, as per the paramedic service for Quebec’s Montérégie region.
After an hour of resuscitation efforts, the medical team made the challenging decision to cease, explained Pigeon. With no parents present to inform, the doctors held a moment of silence to mourn the unknown baby. This act is something Tétreault tries to do whenever faced with a heartbreaking loss, as she recounted.
Later that morning, the Service de police de l’agglomération de Longueuil arrested a 33-year-old woman in connection with the infant’s demise. The woman was released from police custody the following day and is receiving support while under proper care. Police have not confirmed if she is the baby’s mother or if any charges will be filed.
According to the executive director of La Halte du coin, a nearby homeless shelter, the woman in question had been at their warming center around 3 a.m. and was found asleep. When she rose at 8 a.m., staff noticed something amiss and alerted the police. Pigeon empathizes with the baby’s mother, emphasizing the availability of resources and support without judgment.
In response to the incident, Pigeon shared his experience on social media to shed light on the daily challenges faced by doctors, especially in light of the adoption of Bill 2. The law connects doctors’ compensation to collective performance metrics, a move criticized by many healthcare professionals across the province. Pigeon stressed the complexity of assessing performance in emergency situations where cases demand varying levels of attention, effort, and time.
