Prince Albert Public Health Lactation Services
Who we are
An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) has specialized skills in breastfeeding management and care. The letters IBCLC after a name means the person has completed the 3 to 5 year training program and exam showing they have demonstrated knowledge to:
- work together with mothers to prevent and solve breastfeeding problems
- collaborate with other members of the health care team to provide comprehensive care that protects, promotes and supports breastfeeding
- encourage a social environment that supports breastfeeding families
What we do
- Advocate for breastfeeding women, infants, children, families and communities
- Support mothers, infants, children, families, and communities to meet their breastfeeding needs and goals
- Counsel mothers and families on initiation, exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding
- Assist mothers through any difficulties or high risk situations
- Promote breastfeeding
- Educate by sharing current, evidence-based information in breastfeeding
- Empower mothers and families to manage breastfeeding challenges if they arise
How can we help you
Call us for assistance with:
- sore/cracked nipples
- ”not enough milk”
- mastitis
- thrush
- plugged ducts
- weight gain concerns
- position and latch difficulties
- increasing milk supply
- managing growth spurts
- expressing and storing breast milk
- engorgement
- flat or inverted nipples
- any other breastfeeding questions or concerns
Appointments
There are appointment spots available primarily on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a lactation consultant (IBCLC). We can occasionally accommodate other days depending on our assigned duties. We do not currently offer drop-in lactation clinics as it is important to us to have adequate spacing in our waiting room, and to ensure adequate time for additional sanitizing between clients.
Location: Public Health
2nd Floor McIntosh Mall
800 Central Avenue, Prince Albert
We require masking in our facility and will require a COVID19 screening tool done as you arrive. The lactation consultant will be wearing PPE during the consult.
To book: please call 306-765-6506 and ask for the lactation consultant
You can also message us through our Facebook page at Prince Albert Lactation Services
Other resources include:
Useful websites:
Breastfeeding posters
The following catalogue has posters to promote breastfeeding. You can review the catalogue, and then place an order using the attached order form.
Poster Catalogue.pdf
Poster Order Form.pdf
SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT FOR YOU AND YOUR BABY
WHAT’S “SKIN-TO-SKIN”?
Skin-to-skin means your baby is placed belly down, directly on your chest, right after she is born. Your care provider dries her off, puts on a hat and covers her with a warm blanket and gets her settled on your chest. The first hours of snuggling skin-to-skin let you and your baby get to know each other. They also have important health benefits. If she needs to meet the pediatricians first or if you deliver by c-section, you can unwrap her and cuddle shortly after birth. Newborns crave skin-to-skin contact, but it’s sometimes overwhelming for new moms. It’s okay to start slowly as you get to know your baby.
A SMOOTH TRANSITION
Your chest is the best place for your baby to adjust to life in the outside world. Compared with babies who are swaddled or kept in a crib, skin-to-skin babies stay warmer and calmer, cry less and have better blood sugars.
BREASTFEEDING
Snuggling gives you and your baby a normal start for breastfeeding. Research studies have shown that skin-to-skin babies breastfeed better. They also keep nursing an average of six weeks longer. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all breastfeeding babies spend time skin-to-skin right after birth. Keeping your baby skin-to-skin in his first few weeks makes it easy to know when to feed him, especially if he is a little sleepy.
SKIN-TO-SKIN BEYOND THE DELIVERY ROOM
Keep cuddling skin-to-skin after you leave the hospital – your baby will stay warm and comfortable on your chest and the benefits for bonding, soothing and breastfeeding will continue well after birth. Skin-to-skin can help keep your baby interested in nursing if he’s sleepy. Dads can snuggle, too. Fathers and mothers who hold babies skin-to-skin help keep them calm and cozy.
BONDING
Skin-to-skin cuddling may affect how you relate with your baby. Researchers have watched mothers and infants in the first few days after birth and they noticed that skin-to-skin moms touch and cuddle their babies more.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
Multiple studies over the past 30 years have shown the benefits of skin-to-skin contact. In all the studies described here, mothers were randomly assigned to hold their babies skin-to-skin or see them from a distance. For more information, see Anderson GC, GC. Moore, E. Hepworth, J. Bergman, N. Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants. [Systematic Review] Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2, 2005.
- Adapted from: Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition Breastfeeding Committee of Saskatchewan