I would not say routine, as it requires a physician's order, nor very common. However, it is occasionally a good thing, if it is needed. I worked with a baby within the last few days that had not latched at all, not sucking on anything, for 36 hours. Baby repeatedly regurgitated and swallowed, but nothing could be suctioned from the mouth. A miraculous turnaround happened post lavage, and removal of copious mucus. Baby nursed like a champ for the next 16 hours and went home without ever having the less than desirable white liquid. Sometimes intervention can be helpful. I know this mother could have pumped and fed with bottles, and eventually transitioned back to the breast. This minor treatment was much less tramatic. My two cents, Lu RNC,IBCLC Texas > > At our local hospital it is still the protocol to do gastric > >lavage on a newborn baby that is nauseous and spitting up. Is this still > > an universal trend? > *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html