Pregnant women in Ontario about to give birth are facing challenges on multiple fronts. Not only are hospitals preparing for a possible epidural catheter shortage, but some women are being warned staffing shortages could affect their deliveries.

Cassandra Colley-Couse is currently 41-weeks pregnant and began noticing changes in her care during her second trimester.

She was forced to travel an hour away from her home in London, Ont. for routine ultrasounds after not being able to book an appointment anywhere in the city due to staffing issues.

But it wasn’t until her third trimester that she began to get really worried.

Colley-Couse said she was told it was going to be harder to get induced if she wasn’t able to induce labour naturally.

“It was scary and I think it’s very indicative of a larger issue in our healthcare system,” said Colley-Couse. “It’s definitely nerve-wracking and we’re just trying to take it a day at a time.”

Dr. Tali Bogler, chair of Family Health Obstetrics at St. Michael’s Hospital, said while staffing shortages are still plaguing Ontario’s hospitals and affecting a range of services, she hadn’t heard of staffing issues affecting whether someone could be induced.

“There are staffing shortages, everywhere. The hospitals are feeling it in so many different ways … when it comes down to it, if someone, for a medical reason, needs to be induced for whatever reason it is, you know, they will be induced appropriately,” she said.

“People are trying to minimize unnecessary inductions but I haven’t really heard of anyone who needs an induction for [a] medical reason, not being able to do so,” added Dr. Bogler.

And the epidural catheter shortage, the device used to administer epidurals, is another scary prospect pregnant women are facing.

In a statement, Ontario Health confirmed to CityNews that 14 per cent of hospitals in the province have less than a week’s supply of epidural catheters.

While the majority of these sites have not flagged their level of supply as an urgent concern, the Ministry of Health continues to work with any hospitals experiencing low supply levels.

They add, that in all cases to date, the epidural catheter supply shortages have been resolved via either sharing between hospitals or escalating requests with suppliers.

“Hospitals were only using one supplier so I think this is a good lesson for the future too to form those relationships with other suppliers so we’re not in this situation in the future,” said Dr. Bogler.

She said in urban settings, epidurals are used in up to 80 per cent of deliveries.

The ongoing global shortage hit Canada in July but Ontario’s hospitals weren’t impacted until last week.

“I think the part that caused a lot of anxiety for expecting parents is that there were murmurings and rumblings and rumours of what’s happening at various hospitals,” said Dr. Bolger

“An epidural is truly the gold standard for pain relief, continuous pain relief and safety. and it’s the most common choice actually,” she explained.

“To have that suddenly taken away as an option, it’s nerve-wracking for parents,” said Colley-Couse.