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Sherbet · 11-01-2005, 07:26 PM

Hiya all...

I've been told I need to provide informed consent for the hospital to administer vitamin K to my baby after birth. Aparently Vit K reduces the likelihood of internal bleeding (and subsequent death). It can be administered by injection through the heal of the foot (ouch!) or multiple oral administrations.

When I questioned my midwife on how the injection must be painful, her response was "oh, the baby won't feel it..." I challenged her on that by asking if the baby cried... she corrected herself by suggesting that "oh, baby won't remember it".

Vitamin K has been tentatively linked with leukemia and no-one will give me a definative answer on whether it is necessary... I'm sure women have been giving birth to healthy babies without this vitamin.

What do you all think?

zekat · 11-02-2005, 03:57 AM

I've been told that the baby does not produce Vitamin K for the first 4 -10 days (I can't remember if it is 4 or 10!), BUT if you breastfeed, the baby should get the Vitamin K it needs from you. I think the extra Vitamin K could be necessary if the baby has really tough trip down the birth canal (forceps, vaccume, stuck for a really long time). I've not decided yet either. Maybe we need to ask our doctors / midwives what kind of risk there is to refuse the Vitamin K.
Good luck!

KSAS · 11-02-2005, 01:29 PM

I was reading in a book called natural birth choices that only the injection kind of vitamin k has been linked to lukemia and that the oral has not

Mommie-2-B · 11-02-2005, 01:38 PM

Most babies will receive a shot of vitamin K immediately after birth. This protects your baby from a rare, serious bleeding problem that can affect newborns. Newborns lack the ability to make vitamin K, which is needed for blood clotting, for a few days after birth.

But there are no shortage of controversies concerning vitamin K and a newborn. Some earlier studies attempted to show an association between vitamin K administration and increased incidence of childhood cancer, but more recent studies failed to support this concern.

Were we given a Vitamin K shot when we were born?

waiting4baby05 · 11-02-2005, 03:51 PM

I think a lot more kids would have cancer if getting the vitamin K injection were the cause. I think the risk of not getting it would be worse then whatever risk it may cause.

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