Frequently Asked Questions 

 

How can I be seen for an assessment?

A referral form must be completed for a consultation with the details for the parent and the infant.  The parent's email must be written legibly on the form. The referral form can be sent from a physician, registered midwife, dentist, nurse practitioner, audiologist, chiropractor, podiatrist, optometrist or physical therapist. 

 

Do I have to sign up for  your online patient platform Pomelo? 

Yes. We require all parents to register for Pomelo. Our office will send you an invitation (to the email listed on your referral form) when we process your referral.  YOU will use pomelo appointments online and our team uses their secure e-messaging system to send visit summaries and digital handouts to patients. You must be registered with Pomelo prior to us booking an initial consultation visit.  If you already use Pomelo for another office, please ensure to use a NEW email when signing up for pomelo with our office. This is necessary for you to be able to return online questionnaires if needed or for online booking. If you only have one email and are already using it with another office, please let our clinic know. We can have Pomelo merge accounts so that then when they login in there will be a dropdown to choose which clinic they want to access.

Are walk-in appointments allowed?

Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate walk-in assessments.

 

Where is Village Lactation?

Village Lactation which is located within the St. Albert Medical Clinic office at #62, 143 Liberton Drive in St. Albert, AB.
 

How long is the wait to be seen?

Depending on patient demand and visit availability, the wait time can be quite variable but is presently 2-5 weeks. We are updating our referral intake process. When a referral is received, it will be processed by our staff and the patient will be contacted to review the concern and triaged accordingly. Our trained staff will be attempting to book in families in terms of urgency, though we understand that all of your concerns are time sensitive and important.

 

I don’t want to wait that long, where else can I get help?

Please see the directory from edmontonbreastfeeding.com for more options of publicly funded and private pay options. Consider also some of the Calgary clinic options such as WellFed who are currently offering virtual assessments. However, a request to travel for an in person assessment may occur. 

 

Can I book directly with Brittney Pederson for help prior to having  an initial consult with a physician? 

No. Generally, all initial consults are all performed by the physicians in our office. Focused support visits with Brittney are only able to be scheduled by your physicians. 

 

Can I alternate between physicians for my appointments? 

We ask that you book your in person or virtual follow up appointments with the same initial physician who has did your first consult visit.

 

Are the doctors accepting new family medicine patients?  Can they become my family physician?

No, unfortunately, no physicians in our office are accepting new family practice patients. Parents and infants are only able to see our breastfeeding medicine physicians on a consult basis.  If you are looking for a longterm family physician, we suggest you search on Albertafindadoctor.ca for a list of physicians who are accepting patients and consider filling out the brief questionnaire at www.patientsfirst.ca 

 

Can we see Dr. Adams for pregnancy care? 

Yes, you can see her as part of the team of low risk maternity care physicians at the St. Albert and Surgeon Primary Care Network. However, since their team specializes in low risk maternity care, there are certain health conditions or higher risk features during pregnancy that may preclude someone from accessing care with this team. More information can be found on their website or please call the maternity office to inquire at 780-419-2214.

 

Can I have a virtual or video assessment?

Due to the complex nature of a breastfeeding assessment, our team generally prefers for initial assessments to be done in person. When appropriate, some follow up visits may be arranged virtually (typically by phone, but video calls may be arranged if needed). 

 

Do the doctors perform tongue tie procedures?

Yes, when appropriate. The doctor will do a thorough evaluation and discuss with the parent(s) if a frenotomy may be indicated.

 

How do I prepare for this visit?

Please see the How to Prepare for Your Visit with Village Lactation. 

 

Should I bring my pump to my initial assessment?

You can if you so choose, but due to time limitations it is often not possible to do a full feeding assessment and pumping assessment on the first visit. Please only bring in to the initial visit if pumping is the focus of your questions for this assessment and you prefer not to feed the baby at the breast/chest. Otherwise, we can bring the pump to a subsequent visit to help assess at this later date.

 

How long is a referral request valid for?

In Alberta, referral requests are valid for 12 months from the time they are sent to our office. Once you have been seen, you will be able to book a follow up for care related to you and that same baby for up to 12 months from your most recent visit. A new referral would be required for subsequent children and or if NEW breastfeeding/chestfeeding concerns arise  greater than 12 months from the initial consult request. 

 

Is this clinic only for breastfeeding/chestfeeding parents?

At Village Lactation, our goals are your goals. If it is your preference to feed expressed human milk, donor milk, or formula via a different modality than at the breast, we will support you in trying to achieve this goal. 

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Can we receive contraceptive care at this clinic? 

Physicians within our office perform long term reversible contraception such as implantable contraception and IUD insertions. If this is something you do not have access to from other healthcare providers on your team, you can enquire about this with your physician at Village. At this current time, we are not accepting referrals only for contraception requests but are happy to provide this form of care to existing Village Lactation families.