Vitamin K - Benefits, Risks…and lots of Questions
Should we or shouldn’t we consent to Vitamin K for our baby? Are there benefits? Risks? What exactly is being treated by a Vitamin K shot?
These are all great questions, and I’m so glad you are educating yourself so that you can make informed decisions about your health and your baby’s. So let’s first look at just a few facts:
All babies are born with low levels of Vitamin K (which helps blood to clot).
Approximately 1 baby in 25,000 suffers from Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding (VKDB) and 1 in 125,000 die from it.
Vitamin K shots significantly decrease this risk.
Breastfeeding and gentle birth do not statistically decrease this risk.
So if these are facts, why would any parent choose to withhold Vitamin K shots from their newborn?
One of the primary reasons parents question this standard procedure is because of all the unanswered questions about Vitamin K and newborns. Here are just a few:
If ALL babies are ‘deficient’ in Vitamin K, then is it truly a ‘deficiency’? Can it be considered a ‘design flaw’ if it’s actually normal? Against whom are all babies measured? - Who is that perfect norm, the ‘control group’ of babies with acceptable levels of Vitamin K?
If low levels of K are a design feature of a baby, why would babies be born with low levels of the vitamin? What would this design feature be addressing?
Is it theoretically ethical to inject 24,999 healthy babies in order to prevent VKDB in the 25,000th?
Does cord blood contain stem cells that could theoretically help to protect against and heal bleeding, as well as repair brain and other tissue injuries? If so, would it make sense to delay cord clamping as long as possible to maximize stem cell transfer?
Do stem cells move more rapidly through Vitamin K - enriched blood or through blood with low levels of K?
Since colostrum is known to have adequate-to-high levels of Vitamin K that could provide some protection against VKDB, is it possible that standard hospital procedures (such as epidurals) that increase the risk of and inhibit early breastfeeding and bonding might actually increase the risk of VKDB?
Since much of our Vitamin K is produced in the gut by friendly bacteria, what does the role of antibiotic use (in either baby or mom) contribute to the risk of VKDB?
Is it true that the Vitamin K shot contains benzyl alcohol and aluminum? Yes, but the small amounts are thought to be harmless. You can make up your own mind by reading a shot insert (which you can find in the linked article).
There is SO much more to learn about Vitamin K!…so many more questions!
To read my full article on Vitamin K, to find the research references, to see a sample of a Vitamin K insert, or to print it out, you can download a pdf version (free). Just go to the Ask Susie tab and enter the PDF Library to download your copy or click the button below.