Milestones Diagnostics and Wellness

One year of wellness! Celebrating our practitioners...
Thank you Sarah, Jesslyn and Jennifer for helping so many people through your kindness, knowledge, care and skills! We all love you 🥰
Cheers to you!

To book your massage or acupuncture session, please go on our website and select wellness booking, or call us during business hours!

Meet Dr. Heather Robinson, our new part-time physician at Milestones. Dr. Robinson is an experienced OBGYN with Maternal-Fetal Medicine subspecialty training. She has been working a few shifts over the last 5 months at our clinic but will be increasing her number of days soon.
We are so excited to have her! ❤️

A few of our favourite accounts and organizations to follow for support and education.

Maybe you will like them too! 😊

Your questions about ultrasound a few weeks ago on our stories answered here 😊

What sets us apart from typical diagnostic clinics (although they still provide great care and are a valid choice!) is that we specialize in prenatal and obstetrical ultrasound + screening for pregnant folks.

Our MFM specialist is equipped to assess your results and collaborate with you on the best path forward on site ♥️🩺

It was our dream to provide excellent healthcare to families in our community. You are in good hands at Milestones.

Medical facilities do medically requested ultrasounds, not 3D entertainment ultrasounds (which are unregulated). Technology is rapidly changing and we use 3D when we need to image a structure and the usual 2D is not quite enough.

We sometimes use 3D to get different views of the spine, extremities, lips and palate, or details of the face.
3D can sometimes help our patient understand the views we are talking about in a more patient-friendly way.

Please know that 3D is a reconstruction of a volume generated by a software. Early in the pregnancy, 3D can look creepy! We are always surprised about what people see in their 3D images - one of the most frequent concern is about confusing the normal philtrum (small midline depression under the nose) with a cleft lip. If you think your baby’s face does not look quite right, please ask us about it, we are always happy to help understand the exam.

Thank you to the patients who have left us detailed reviews of their experiences here at Milestones! We are aiming to be human-centered, trauma-informed and accessible to all who need our services. Your feedback shows us that we’re being successful in our motives!

Community is important when you are becoming a parent. Maybe you have seen our community bulletin boards! Here we offer space to trusted and aligned community members offering services to new or becoming parents. From maternity photography to lactation consultants, you are welcome to take a peak to see if there is something for you or drop off a pamphlet for us to post.

You’ve got this. With all the subconscious messages our brains digest everyday, mostly negative from the news and our society’s obsession on what does not go well; this is a reminder that you got this. To trust yourself.

We believe in the good in humans.

{ women’s health clinic, ultrasound, obstetrics, Edmonton wellness, OBGYN, MFM specialist, maternal-fetal medicine, trauma informed, weight neutral }

As a physician, I often wonder what kind of information people are looking for when they come for a test. Have they signed up for the information they will be receiving? It’s easy when all is normal, but it becomes complicated when ultrasound shows things that are uncertain, when ultrasound suspects something is abnormal. Are people aware that some information is about to be dropped on their plate and they will have to live with it?

This is the same for diagnoses that stay for a long time into a chart, whether that is still true or not; altering care, biases and also life / disability insurance coverage. It is so hard to un-do a diagnosis.

In the “do not harm” physician motto, there can be harm from the anxiety a test causes, from a false alarm, from a false reassurance. From the unknown. From the subsequent tests. From all the time it takes figuring things out.

Can harm be avoided, can trauma be avoided? Can a person learn unexpected information in non traumatic way? As a physician, how do I care for each person in a way that they consciously or unconsciously expect?

The real honest answer is that I hope so, but I do not know.
Maybe being present in mind, body and heart is a start... Being human with another human.

The other day, something that never happened to me happened. An ex-patient came to give me a hug: they wondered about my emotional wellbeing after giving so many sad news. It surprised me; first because we learn to not expect thanks as a physician; second, it reflected my own humanity against the tapestry of all the humans I serve the best I can, sometimes through joy, sometimes through grief and loss. It reminded me of my own humanity and the importance of looking after it too.

Photos by

{ YEG OBGYN, physician, MFM, edmonton clinic, women’s clinic, women’s health, women’s wellness, specialist }

A nervous system’s guide to the Holidays

💤1- Sleep is king! - good sleep is essential for good health, from immune system, brain health, mood, focus... To get good sleep, have a relaxing bedtime routine, have consistency in scheduling sleep, avoid alcohol, avoid food 3 hours before bedtime, avoid blue light from digital devices at least 2 hours before bedtime. Trouble falling asleep? Try focusing on your breath, breathing a little slower and deeper than usual, with a prolonged exhale.
🍓2- Food - this festive season is a good opportunity to learn what makes you feel good in your body versus what makes you feel heavy and slow. Give you gut a restful break from certain food, and see how it respond. Watch if your nervous system responds with calm or anxiety to certain food and journal it down :)
🌲3- Nature - it can truly be healing. From exposure to natural light, and being outside - the human nervous system evolved to be in nature and also find safety in a dwelling.
🏃🏼4- Movement - can help resetting the nervous system and find balance. Notice your thought pattern when you move or after exercise. Worth it. Calm. Grounded.
🤗5- Connection - the nervous system finds safety in supportive connections. This is when we can truly access all of our brains, learn new things, change behaviors, and be “in the flow!”. A good hug is a way to reset the nervous system, so pause to kiss and hug a little longer your loved ones this season! And this works with pets, plants, and even a hug to yourself! Love is indeed all around.

If you find anger creeping in your body, this is often a way for your body to tell you that some boundaries were overstepped. Just good information to reflect on, and some clarity on boundaries.
Cheers to us all :) I will try to follow my own advice.

Happy holidays from our little crew to yours. Wishing all a peaceful, restorative time with your family and community!
We are open with limited capacity this week!❤️

Even health worker elves need a break! Please see our clinic schedule below for the holiday season 🙂🎄

Wellness services are AVAILABLE - see availability online

Ultrasound/ MFM consult schedule:
CLOSED December 25 and 26th
OPEN December 27th & 28th (only for follow up patients/urgent)
CLOSED December 29th 2023 - January 5th 2024
Open Jan 8, 2024 onward : Regular hours

Bonding Through Nurturing Touch: Infant Massage Workshop Dec 14th 4:30pm - 6pm (90min)

Join Jesslyn, RMT and doula at Milestones Diagnostics and Wellness for an engaging 1.5 hour workshop filled with the best practices and precautions for massaging your infant. You’ll complete a full body massage routine on your little one in a warm environment. This casual session is designed for parents with infants aged 1 to 12 months old, though the techniques can easily be used well into toddlerhood and beyond. The course is hands on, so bring your little one to practice techniques under guidance and make new friends!
Register on our website under wellness appointment and Jesslyn, or call reception 780-540-9940 😌

Energy management and resilience. With the holidays coming, lots of people feel pulled in many directions and sometimes the mind and body can go in overwhelm. We can choose to learn how to take take of our nervous system and create resilience. Yes, resilience can be created, expanded, learnt. It is not fixed.

Simple, science-backed techniques from Heart Math Institute have help thousands of humans create resilience in their bodies so that they have tools to manage their energy, capacity, and self-awareness. There techniques are made for real life, no need to isolate yourself - it's creating focus and composure among chaos.

Next small group workshop is on Monday, Dec 11 2023 6:30 - 7:30pm. We hope to see you there :) It is free - if you register online, there is a $5 deposit to hold a spot; if you phone in to register, there is no deposit. 780-540-9940

Dr Naud is our Heart Coherence coach at Milestones, and Heart Coherence has made a huge difference in her life. She has been teaching these concepts to many, and the feedback is always "everyone should learn that!".

We are happy to be a drop-off location for this holiday season. Until Christmas, you will be able to drop off boxes of menstrual hygiene products to be offered to women who need them. According to stats, approx. 70,000 tampons are needed for women in crisis across Canada every month. Check out the founders' founding story in the slides above. ❤️

High risk vs low risk pregnancies. Some people like to be labeled one or the other. Most don’t care. It may be useful to decide prenatal care, screening options, type, location and timing of delivery. But its meaning is a bit subjective and the threshold arbitrary.

A high-risk pregnancy usually requires more surveillance, an increased chance of early delivery, interventions, or poor outcomes.

A low risk pregnancy is when we expect an uncomplicated course, and “normal” outcomes. 🙏🏼

BPAs = Bisphenol A. This is a chemical that is found in plastic and metal products… think water bottles, food cans and water pipes. Since 1997, studies have been conducted that report adverse effects on the offspring of mice even at low doses.

Further studies have suggested association with cancer. In the last 20 years, they have been the most studied endocrine disruptors because they are the most widespread.
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Here is what you can do to avoid them. The Mayo clinics offers these steps:
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🌱Use BPA-free products. Manufacturers are creating more and more BPA-free products. Look for products labeled as BPA-free. If a product isn't labeled, keep in mind that some, but not all, plastics marked with recycle code 3 or 7 may contain BPA.

🌱Avoid heat. Don't put plastic containers in the microwave or dishwasher, because the heat may break them down over time and allow BPA to leach into foods.

🌱Focus on fresh whole foods.

🌱Use alternatives. Use glass, porcelain or stainless-steel containers for hot foods and liquids instead of plastic containers.

I am a rebel at heart; it is just what it is. I am an ally of the people. Calling for change is often not well received. Today is personal.

I tried pleasing, shrinking into the boxes that were designed to hold me, protect me, guide me.

Those socially acceptable boxes seemed to fit others. But not me.

When you do not fit, it's easy to question self-worth, and feel shame for this *defectiveness* of not fitting in in the system. Being too much, too intelligent, too assertive, too passionate, too masculine, too driven, too idealistic, even being too good (I was just told that one, unbelievable!): these are the blurred boxes' walls people set up for others so that we are the socially constructed good girl, good citizen, good doctor, etc. Those boxes will vary depending on gender, color of skin, age, etc.

Recently, I have been reflecting more about my training as a female physician in a surgical specialty, also getting physician connection from . How, during the years of training, we literally have to fit in, just to survive. How human characteristics and needs have to be *erased or suppressed* to be considered a good doctor. How we are trained to not connect personally with our patients, how we are to stay distant, avoid personal opinions, avoid showing weakness, emotions, or uncertainty. This is the box.
And I am peeling the layers, because, at last, I am aware of it.

From a nervous system and trauma-informed standpoint, it is so harmful to our bodies and brains, to feel alone and marginalized. We heal and maintain health through connection with others; we need others, the safe ones; we need to feel that "we fit in" somehow, even if it's fitting in with the marginalized, the other rebels and disruptors.

We all need each other.

I have cared for pregnant women on the whole spectrum of the reproductive age range. My youngest patient was 11, my oldest was 54.

Challenges are different. In the young, they tend to have more energy, and also just assume that things will go well. The older patients are often more tired, the body often hurts more, and they also are often concerned that something may go sideways, even though most of the time, everything goes well.

Of course, age changes a few things - however, the mainstream message makes it more a thing than it is truly (for pregnancy at least). It is however easier to conceive before 35. Always think about your eggs! Think ahead.

Why do we have learners at our clinic?
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To change the world! YES.
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Spread the fire of kindness!
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Change the collective!
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Learners are always closely supervised, coming from reputable schools like NAIT or the U of A, they are well identified, and are bound to the same privacy and care standards. You may be asked if having a learner at your visit is OK. Speak your mind- your choice is always right.

If you are a woman, the fact that there is a gender lens in medicine will probably not surprise you that much. Let us know how you know this exists in comments to raise awareness.

Not too long ago, in June 2021, the Times published “Medical Myths About Gender Roles Go Back to Ancient Greece. Women Are Still Paying the Price Today”. When that kind of issue reaches the mainstream media, it is because a building amount of research is pushing our collective reflection.

“We expect, and deserve, fair and ethical treatment regardless of our gender or the color of our skin. But here things get complicated. Medicine carries the burden of its own troubling history. The history of medicine, of illness, is every bit as social and cultural as it is scientific. It is a history of people, of their bodies and their lives, not just of physicians, surgeons, clinicians and researchers. And medical progress has not marched forward just in laboratories and benches, lectures and textbooks; it has always reflected the realities of the changing world and the meanings of being human.

Gender difference is intimately stitched into the fabric of humanness. At every stage in its long history, medicine has absorbed and enforced socially constructed gender divisions. These divisions have traditionally ascribed power and dominance to men. Historically, women have been subordinated in politics, wealth and education. Modern scientific medicine, as it has evolved over the centuries as a profession, an institution and a discipline, has flourished in these exact conditions. Male dominance—and with it the superiority of the male body—was cemented into medicine’s very foundations, laid down in ancient Greece.”

Gender bias has led to dismissal of symptoms, “psychologicalization” of physical concerns, delay in investigations and treatments, lack of women in research, delays in knowledge about the female body and processes.

The placenta is the interface between the maternal structures and the fetus. It belongs to the fetus and forms/grows alongside the baby during the whole pregnancy. It comes out after the baby is born.
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Sometimes the placenta inserts over the cervix or near the cervix. The cervix is like the door of the womb for the baby, and it needs to be unobstructed for a vaginal delivery. When the placenta is over the cervix, it’s a placenta previa. Placenta previa can be seen using ultrasound from 18-20 wk, and sometimes an interval/vaginal probe is used to better image the exact location of the placenta and cervix.
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Depending on different factors, early placenta previa can become normal by the end of the pregnancy. If the placenta remains covering the cervix, a cesarean section is necessary.
Placenta previa can bleed unexpectedly and profusely, causing interventions and blood loss. Various restrictions in physical and s*xual activities are often recommended to limit risks.

A sonographer is someone who acquires ultrasound images using soundwave technology to view anything that is soft tissue! To become a sonographer, there are programs at NAIT or SAIT called Diagnostic Imaging that take about 2.5 years. These programs include rotations in different clinics, so that sonographers become familiar with scanning different body parts.

One of the most difficult skills is obstetrical ultrasound! Why? We are scanning a moving target ((the fetus) at a distance, and the structures are often only a few millimeters in size.
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Sonographers are highly sought-after and most are hired even before finishing school. Typical wages are $35-65/hours in Alberta. To be a good sonographer, great eye-hand coordination is required, being able to build rapport with people, be self-directed, systematic, and conscientious.

Have you ever thought about studying diagnostic imaging and becoming a sonographer?

With the advance in better ultrasound technology, we see better, more, and earlier in the pregnancy than ever before. This is exciting as it allows early detection and interventions for some fetal conditions. It allows parents to make choices regarding additional testing and screening, while the pregnancy is still early and not “showing too much”.
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In the USA, with the restricted access to comprehensive family planning choices in some states, there is a push to improve the detection rate of fetal conditions that were only seen at the 18-20 wk ultrasound.
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What is being assessed and reported at the 11-13 wk ultrasound can vary from clinic to clinic, as this is a field of special expertise. The minimum would be measurements of the length of the fetus, the nuchal translucency, nasal bone, heart rate, amniotic fluid. In expert hands, the detection rate for major fetal anomalies at 11–13 weeks was 46 % and in a high-risk population, it was even 61 %, respectively. More than 30 structures can be assessed at that early stage. Fetal s*x?? Yes and no. Well, the accuracy is less than perfect, but sometimes an “educated guess” can be made, knowing that this needs to be reassessed later.
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The 11-13 wk is way more than the nuchal translucency measurement. It is an early fetal anatomy assessment that can be offered even if someone is not interested in doing any screening for Down’s Syndrome, or if someone has had a low risk NIPS.

We are often asked “so, everything is normal?!” and we are always… “hummmm…”

It is often difficult to understand that ultrasound can miss important things, can raise a false alarm, or that a prior finding may improve, worsen or change in other ways as pregnancy advances.

There are no absolutes, and the prenatal ultrasound is akin to looking at a crystal ball, trying to find meaningful information though relatively clear or muddy waters. Ultrasound looks at anatomy, but cannot always predict function accurately. For example, the baby’s brain might look anatomically normal, but ultrasound cannot predict IQ (function), or that the baby will have a normal brain at age 10.

Some people are more “ultrasound friendly” than others. This could be related to the soft tissue layers that need to transmit sound to reach the uterus and fetus; sometimes, it is the baby’s position inside the uterus that is not ideal to see a structure well enough. Either way, when images are difficult to obtain, sometimes we need to acknowledge the limitations of prenatal ultrasound even moreso.

What are the limitations of prenatal Ultrasound? We are often asked “so, everything is normal?!” and we are always… “hummmm…”

It is often difficult to understand that ultrasound can miss important things, can raise a false alarm, or that a prior finding may improve, worsen or change in other ways as pregnancy advances.

There are no absolutes, and the prenatal ultrasound is akin to looking at a crystal ball, trying to find meaningful information though relatively clear or muddy waters. Ultrasound looks at anatomy, but cannot always predict function accurately. For example, the baby’s brain might look anatomically normal, but ultrasound cannot predict IQ (function), or that the baby will have a normal brain at age 10.

Some people are more “ultrasound friendly” than others. This could be related to the soft tissue layers that need to transmit sound to reach the uterus and fetus; sometimes, it is the baby’s position inside the uterus that is not ideal to see a structure well enough. Either way, when images are difficult to obtain, sometimes we need to acknowledge the limitations of prenatal ultrasound even moreso.

Pre-eclampsia is a combination of high blood pressure in pregnancy and protein in the urine. It is a major cause of pregnancy complications, and could even be life-threatening for both mom and baby. Some people are more at risk of developing pre-eclampsia. High-risk women could benefit from taking a small dose of aspirin from the late 1st trimester until 36 wk. Low-dose aspirin could decrease the likelihood of pre-eclampsia by up to 70-90% in some women.
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Here are some risk factors for pre-eclampsia:
- IVF conception
- Advanced maternal age
- Diabetes or insulin resistance
- Chronic hypertension
- Family history of preeclampsia
- Twins or triplets
- Past pregnancy affected by pre-eclampsia
- Pregnancies very close together or long time in between
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An early stratification of risk is important so that adequate surveillance and awareness take place. We offer pre-eclampsia risk assessment, but this can be discussed with any prenatal care provider.

Let’s talk about environmental contaminants to avoid before and during pregnancy and beyond…
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PFAS substances are a concerning issue. These “forever chemicals” are in the process of being banned as they stay in our bodies indefinitely and they're found in everyday items, like the wrappers used for butter or fast food, which are designed to repel grease.
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I’ve discovered that even yoga pants may contain these substances. What's alarming is that these chemicals can be absorbed through the skin. It's certainly a cause for concern, and there is a need to delve deeper into this issue to better understand its implications.
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Items to look out for…
Cookware
Stain resistant clothing
moisture wicking clothing

What makes you feel at ease in medical spaces? Colors, sounds, textures, smells? People? Furniture?
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I have many reflections on nervous system regulation and different spaces. But today I want to turn it over to you to share your experiences or ideas in this big conversation.
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How can the medical space support nervous system regulation in critical, difficult times where there is illness, anxiety and invasive treatments involved? Aka, what makes you feel better in those situations?