TIMMINS -- As the opioid addiction crisis continues at a shocking level in northern Ontario, doctors from the region are sounding the alarm and asking the province to create support programs for pregnant women struggling with addiction and substance use.
Louisa Marion-Bellemare is a doctor in Timmins, where 29 people in the city died from opioid overdoses in 2020.
She and others in the northern Ontario medical community want to provide care for pregnant women without judgement to avoid unnecessary trauma to the mother and her baby, and said it is a province-wide problem.
"We want women to come in, ask for treatment and receive treatment with opiate agonist therapy or other treatments available ... we know the outcome is better for both mother and child when the treatment for their substance use disorder occurs before the child is born," Marion-Bellemare said.
Dr. Mike Franklyn, a retired physician who spent his 25-year career in the Sudbury area working as a family doctor in obstetrics and as an advocate for pregnant women with substance use disorder, said apprehending children from mothers with addictions creates the worst kind of trauma.
"If you just put yourself in that situation, you’ve just had this baby, you might have stopped using drugs, trying to get a leg up, and to have that kid apprehended almost 100 per cent guarantees that mom would relapse to drugs," Franklyn said.
He agrees with Marion-Bellemare and said the province needs to put programs in place to help women while they're pregnant.
"There’s literally no program in Ontario where a mom who’s pregnant can go to live if she’s homeless or precariously-housed to benefit from shelter and education with respect to parenting," Franklyn said.
He also said there are no residential treatment services available for pregnant women with addictions who already have children living with them.
One woman in need of help is 37-year-old Kelly-Ann from Timmins, who is pregnant with her fifth child.
Kelly-Ann said she struggles with addiction and that doctors like Marion-Bellmare have not only given her care, but have also given her hope.
"The addictions problem has been an issue for me since I was a young teenager and it’s been hard for me cause my first child was apprehended at birth," she said.
Kelly-Ann said she was hoping at that time being honest would help, but instead, it resulted in lasting trauma for her. However, she said this pregnancy is different and she wants other women to know there is help available.
"They’ve been unconditionally and really on my side since I came out with my issue and it’s been a lot of positiveness with them and I’m really grateful that I met them," Kelly-Ann said.
Marion-Bellemare said Kelly-Ann is not alone.
"We have, you know, many women in Kelly-Ann’s situation who are either fearful to come and ask for help; who are ashamed about coming to ask for help and we really need to change this," the Timmins doctor said.
Struggling with addiction and about to give birth, Kelly-Ann makes extra money busking by singing and playing guitar.
Once she has the baby and is able, they plan to go together to an addictions treatment centre in Etobicoke that accepts mother and baby for up to a year, where they can begin a new life together. However, she and northern doctors hope the same help will eventually be available closer to home.
CTV News reached out to the Ministry of Health for comment on whether any programs are forthcoming to help pregnant women struggling with addiction in northern Ontario, like Kelly-Ann, but has not received a response by the time of publication.
