Frequently asked
The ones we’re asked most.
OHIP, referrals and cost
The money questions.
What does OHIP cover, and what will I pay?
If you have OHIP we can help you request a referral so you pay a smaller co-pay for your IBCLC’s time. Pay by credit card, e-transfer or cheque.
If the referral hasn’t arrived before your consult, we won’t make your baby wait for a fax. You are welcome to keep your consult with the IBCLC at the same rate as the OHIP copay. How to get a referral. Find the consult you need and the fee.
If cost is what stands between your family and this appointment, please ask your insurance provider about coverage. Some families have lactation, nursing, dietetics, or naturopathic coverage, others have healthcare spending accounts. Your accountant may also have a use for your medical receipts, like ours.
Is there help with the cost?
Timely IBCLC support may help you save thousands on unnecessary formula, herbs, medications, colic remedies, pumping and feeding gear.
You deserve IBCLC care when your family needs it, and we keep working toward fully subsidized consults. Today, we are pleased to provide the care you need at a smaller OHIP co-pay with referral.
If cost is what stands between your family and this appointment, please ask your insurance provider about coverage. Some families have lactation, nursing, dietetics, or naturopathic coverage, others have healthcare spending accounts. Your accountant may also have a use for your medical receipts, like ours.
Partners, grandparents, siblings and friends also buy gift certificates in any amount.
Do I need a referral, and how do I get one?
Only for the OHIP-subsidized rate. You don’t need one to be seen.
It has to come from a family doctor, midwife, nurse practitioner, OB or walk-in doctor, and cover both you and your baby.
You don’t have to sort it out before you book. Book what you want and we’ll help you ask for one. Your baby won’t wait on a fax, and you won’t pay more. How to request a referral.
Have you got my referral? Is it valid?
Emma from our admin team will text or email you when your referral comes in.
A referral we can use is addressed to the Ontario Breastfeeding Clinic and covers the parent and the baby, with health card numbers, and the issue(s) you’re having.
If your provider used our online form it reached us the moment they submitted it. The forms are here, if they still need them.
Booking and appointments
Getting the right consult.
Which appointment should I book?
If you don’t know what to book answer a few quick questions (postal code & what’s happening) and we’ll point you somewhere sensible.
You don’t need to know what’s wrong before you book. That’s part of what the appointment’s for. Find your next step.
How soon can I be seen? Can I come back?
The booking page shows what’s genuinely available, a better answer than anything here. See what’s available.
A virtual visit is usually soonest, and it reaches everywhere in Ontario. If there’s no office or home visit near you in the next day or two, book the virtual one.
Evening and weekend consults may be available too, so it’s worth a look even if weekdays are hard.
Can I come back?
Please do! Book yourself in as often as you need until you’re symptom-free and on your way to your feeding goals.
New pain? A milestone? A nagging feeding worry? That’s reason enough, and your baby is never too old for a follow-up. Book a follow-up.
Is my appointment virtual or in person? How to prepare for either?
Please look for your Thanks for Booking email for the type of visit you booked, office address, parking and link details.
Virtual visits reach anywhere in Ontario. Offices and home visits are available too, enter your postal code to see what’s available near you.
Waiting for an in-person appointment doesn’t mean waiting to be seen. A virtual visit now and an in-person one later is a good plan. How to prepare for either.
Which location am I at, and can I switch?
Your Thanks for Booking email has the address and parking. Some areas have more than one office, so go by the address, not the town.
Email the front desk if you need help changing your appointment. Contact us.
When should I book my prenatal breastfeeding class?
About a month before your due date, or earlier if you have concerns about your breast development or medical history.
Running out of time? Book it as soon as you can. See prenatal options.
What if I need to change or cancel?
The Please Play Nice Policy
Your appointment time is held just for you. When a visit is missed at the last minute, that time can’t go to another family who needed it, so here’s all we ask.
If you need to cancel or move your appointment, please give us 48 hours’ notice: 2 full business days, not counting weekends or holidays.
- Cancelling with more than 48 hours notice: a $20 + HST fee.
- Cancelling with less than 48 hours notice: the full visit fee.
- Rescheduling with less than 48 hours notice to a later day: a $20 + HST fee.
- Rescheduling with less than 48 hours notice to a sooner day: $0. And always $0 when we’re the ones moving it.
- Rescheduling with more than 48 hours notice: $0
Refunds carry a $20 + HST admin fee, and a bounced payment (NSF) is $20 + HST.
OHIP and referrals. A valid referral is not required for IBCLC support, but is a requirement for MD support and access to OHIP subsidized rates. A subsidized rate visit also means parent and baby are both there for the full 60 minutes and seen by the physician (unless baby hasn’t arrived yet). If the referral hasn’t arrived before your booked consult, we won’t make your baby wait for a fax. You are welcome to keep your consult with the IBCLC at the same rate as the OHIP copay.
Tongue tie and lip tie
Releases are only recommended when necessary, and are properly timed.
Someone told me my baby has a tongue tie. What happens now?
The first step is a proper look at how your baby is actually feeding. Your IBCLC will assess your latch, feeding, and milk supply. During a virtual or in-person consult we are able to work through whether an oral assessment and release may be part of your story.
So the appointment to book is a Lactation Consult for feeding and oral function assessment, not the procedure. Nothing is decided before you’ve met with your OBC IBCLC. Book a Virtual or In-Person Lactation Consult.
If a release turns out to be the right thing, the next question is answered below.
What happens if my baby does need a release?
Most babies need help to be optimally ready for a release and that can take more than one visit, plus some aftercare afterwards; your IBCLC will plan that with you and you can book in yourself.
If your baby’s release is being done somewhere else, we can still look after the rest of it. At OBC, Sharing is Caring! Our IBCLCs give the same comprehensive prep and aftercare if your baby was released by another provider.
To see Dr Forrester for help with your complex infant feeding concerns, including tongue-tie assessment and release, please book a consult with any of the amazing IBCLCs on our team and our admin can help you request a valid referral.
A valid referral is not required for IBCLC support, but is a requirement for MD support and access to OHIP subsidized rates. Book the support you want and we’ll help you ask for a referral. If the referral hasn’t arrived before your consult, we won’t make your baby wait for a fax. You are welcome to keep your consult with the IBCLC at the same rate as the OHIP copay.
How do I book a tongue tie release here?
Email me how the release process works.
How a release works here, start to finish: what happens before it, where it is done, what it costs, and the aftercare we recommend.
Yes, email me how the release process works.
On its way. Reply to it with a question, or to tell us what you’d like at your follow-up.
Please use the address we already have for you, so it reaches the right file. Would rather ask a person? Write to Emma
Your care team
Who you’ll actually see.
What can you help with?
Latch, nipple and breast pain, tongue tie, mastitis, supply, pumping, bottles, combination feeding, starting solids, going back to work, weaning, and the ones that are harder to name.
Our IBCLCs have trained well beyond the basics, and complex feeding problems are what they do.
You and your baby can’t be treated separately. Care for one lands on the other, so our IBCLCs look after you both as one.
Will I see the doctor as well as the lactation consultant?
Our IBCLCs work with our physicians, who specialize in Breastfeeding Medicine.
A valid referral is not required for IBCLC support, but is a requirement for MD support and access to OHIP subsidized rates. Book the support you want and we’ll help you ask for a referral. If the referral hasn’t arrived before your consult, we won’t make your baby wait for a fax. You are welcome to keep your consult with the IBCLC at the same rate as the OHIP copay.
When you book, you can let our admin team know if you’d like a physician to join.
Answer a few questions and you’ll see the options that are actually available to you, each with its price beside it. Find your next step.
Not in the list
Please ask us : )
Emma our amazing front desk admin tries her best to answer emails by the next business day. Admin is in Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm, and closed on stat holidays.
