Soon after birth, babies receive a variety of checkups, shots and vaccines. This includes a vitamin K shot, which is not a vaccine but a supplemental nutrient to help with blood clotting. Recently, more parents are opting not to give their newborns the boost of vitamin K, a highly recommended preventive measure.
“Building a trusted, open and honest relationship with your OB/GYN and pregnancy care team will help you understand why we recommend what we do,” said Katherine Wang, MD, neonatologist at Avera Neonatology in Sioux Falls, SD. “Then you can make informed decisions regarding your pregnancy and baby.”
Summary
In this article, Wang explains the importance of the vitamin K shot for newborns as a nutrient that prevents the risk of uncontrolled bleeding. This can be extremely dangerous with irrevocable consequences. She addresses parental hesitancy, driven by misinformation and safety concerns, and explains how it is different from a vaccine. In addition, the blog encourages informed decisions with your care team, and highlights the shot as a safe, preventive measure.
Why are parents opting not to give their newborns the vitamin K shot?
After the COVID-19 pandemic, people are more hesitant about what preventive measures are being promoted in health care. During that time, opinions ranged from genuine concern to unfounded suspicion.
“The vitamin K shot was an innocent bystander that got caught in the crossfire,” said Wang. “Because it’s an injection, it got lumped into the vaccine category. People were cautious and confused, ultimately leading to misinformation.”
In addition, people started expressing concerns over preservatives in the vitamin K shot. Wang reassures that Avera uses a preservative-free form of vitamin K.
What is the vitamin K shot and what does it do?
The vitamin K shot is simply a vitamin. Human bodies do not produce vitamins. Just like how you eat a varied diet or how you take a daily multivitamin or a vitamin C or D supplement, the vitamin K shot is a concentrated dose of just that: vitamin K.
Like other nutrients, vitamin K assists in how the body naturally functions. Think of how vitamin D supports your body’s ability to absorb calcium or how vitamin C assists in the production of collagen — vitamin K has an important job, too.
“Vitamin K helps humans form clots and prevent uncontrollable bleeding,” said Wang.
Why does a baby need this vitamin K boost?
Babies are born with very low levels of vitamin K; they don’t receive much from mom in utero and breast milk has very low levels of vitamin K. Levels can even be lower if mom was on any medications during pregnancy which disrupt the processing of vitamin K, such as anti-seizure medications, blood thinners and some antibiotics.
Read more: Caring for Your Newborn the First Weeks After Birth
Why is the vitamin K shot so important for babies?
“The vitamin K shot is very important for full-term newborns, and extremely important for premature babies,” said Wang. “If we don’t give babies vitamin K at birth, they’re at high risk of uncontrolled bleeding because of their naturally lower levels of vitamin K.”
This is called vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB), or hemorrhagic disease of the newborn. The most common places of bleeding for newborns are in the head, the gut or the circumcision site. By giving your baby the vitamin K shot, you’re taking away the risk of vitamin K deficiency bleeding.
If you refuse the vitamin K shot and your newborn starts bleeding, it could become a life-or-death situation, said Wang. The symptoms, should they appear, can be irreversible.
There are three types of vitamin K deficiency bleeding:
- Early onset – uncontrolled bleeding occurs within the first 24 hours of life
- Classic – uncontrolled bleeding within two days to one week of life
- Late onset – uncontrolled bleeding occurs one week to eight months of life
The amazing thing? This one shot alleviates the risk of all three types.
How is the vitamin K shot different from a vaccine?
Vaccines, or immunizations, are designed to decrease the severity of infections. When you receive a vaccine, you are training your body’s immune response to fight a future infection. It’s a proactive health choice.
“The vitamin K shot has nothing to do with vaccines,” explained Wang. “It’s a vitamin, a supplemental nutrient that supports your body’s function in blood clotting.
And this is the case with the risk of vitamin K deficiency bleeding — the fix is prevention.
Does the vitamin K shot have to be given by injection?
While there is an oral form, it is not recommended because it is not as effective as the injection. Babies who receive oral supplementation can still have uncontrolled bleeding. Babies’ intestines are immature and cannot absorb vitamin K well. In addition, there is no licensed oral form of vitamin K available in the U.S.
Are there any concerns at all?
Currently, the biggest risk is skin irritation at the site of the injection — which is the typical, universal concern with any injection. In very rare cases, a small number of babies may have an allergic reaction to the shot. It’s difficult to know whether a newborn will have an allergic reaction, but since most reactions happen within moments after the shot, your physician can spot it immediately and deliver care.
Schedule an Appointment
Learn more about what’s best for your newborn by talking with your pregnancy or baby’s provider. You can meet with your chosen provider before your baby’s birth to discuss any questions or concerns you may have. This is a great time to talk about vitamin K and other post-birth needs for your baby.
