Hi again and thanks to Robyn and Marilyn for your replies so far,
I fully agree that gastric washes are not warranted, but having been faced with babies who receive no breastmilk at all when the mothers choose to artificially feed, I wonder at their different mechanism of clearing a gut full of mucous/blood/mec. Colostrum kick starts all sorts of mechanisms - from mechanical to hormonal etc etc. Really surprises me that there is no formula substitute for colostrum to start these A/F babies off with. That's not to say that all the babies who received gastric washes were a/f, they weren't.
Also Marilyn if you talk of babies who are born rapidly, then I guess every c/section baby would fit this category...
The mechanised birthing and protocols and the way most midwives just follows things and don't query them really amazes me.
One amazed and frustrated student, Sue -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
