are you doing the vitamin K shot ?

Christa&Allen · May 2013

just curious to see what other's thoughts are on the vitamin k shot after birth? or perhaps some of you are opting for the oral vit k? TIA

PrimRoseMama · May 2013

Yes we do all the routine administrations after birth.

For those curious about what it is:
"He?ll get Vitamin K injected into his leg, in case he?s among the 0.25% to1.7% of babies born with Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding ? a serious bleeding disorder that can cause healthy-appearing babies to hemorrhage because they don?t have enough Vitamin K to clot their blood. A single Vitamin K shot, reduces chances of VKDB significantly.

Most states mandate that all babies receive Vitamin K as soon as possible (usually within the first hour) after birth. Parents can sign a waiver if they object in some states, but they?ll be given some grief about it. They can also opt for oral Vitamin K, though it requires multiple doses to be given by parents. The shot is fast and while most babies cry when they get it, it?s over and done with in about a second. Oral Vitamin K tastes nasty (I?ve tried it) and while it may save a baby from getting poked, it requires he suck back that nasty flavor many times.

Some parents who object to the shot are less concerned about the needle than they are about old reports there may be a connection between Vitamin K and childhood leukemia. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement saying research conducted by a task force found no association between Vitamin K injections and leukemia."

https://www.fitpregnancy.com/labor-delivery/ask-labor-nurse/vitamin-k-shots-antibiotic-eye-treatment-and-hepatitis-b-vaccination-

blueturkey12 · May 2013

We plan to do it.

cjm724 · May 2013

We are going to do it, but we are waiting until after we have done skin to skin contact and attempted at breast feeding (as long as baby is doing okay).

queenbone · May 2013

Both the boys received it after birth and I have no plans for contesting the shot for this baby either.

missyjg · May 2013

absolutely!!

Erinm278 · May 2013

Yes, we will be doing Vit K and eye goop and all that jazz.

andrea0418 · May 2013

Erinm278:
Yes, we will be doing Vit K and eye goop and all that jazz.

What's the eye goop?! I apparently have so much to learn. This is the first I have heard of vitamin k.

Erinm278 · May 2013

andrea0418:
Erinm278:
Yes, we will be doing Vit K and eye goop and all that jazz.
What's the eye goop?! I apparently have so much to learn. This is the first I have heard of vitamin k.

They put an eye ointment in the baby's eyes after delivery to prevent any infection the baby could get after it's journey through the birth canal.

JellyTwoPointO · May 2013

If I had the option to do the oral doses instead, that's what we'd go with. However, the hospital doesn't offer them. So we are doing the shot, but I'm asking they wait till an hour after birth so we can establish skin-to-skin and breastfeeding unless they see an apparent bleeding issue that may require the shot immediately as opposed to a one hour delay.

JilllyBean · May 2013

Do they put the eye goop on if you have a Csection?

SunnyMuffin · May 2013

JilllyBean:
Do they put the eye goop on if you have a Csection?

Yes

We aren't doing it if its an untraumatic birth (no forceps, vacuum, bruising etc). I did last time because of a vacuum extraction, decided after birth.

sonshine0609 · May 2013

Hannah&Alex:
Nope, not if it is a normal delivery. I really like this list for looking at both sides of some decisions. It helped me a lot in learning some of the things I have to think about and which way to go. I find it a fairly non-biased explanation.
Part 1:https://www.keeperofthehome.org/2012/02/1o-decisions-for-parents-of-newborns.html
Part 2: https://www.keeperofthehome.org/2012/02/10-decision-of-newborn-parents-part-2.html

Thank you for posting these articles! I have been looking into a lot of the standard new born procedures & I really liked reading all of the pro & cons.

Stina2012 · May 2013

Hannah&Alex:
Nope, not if it is a normal delivery. I really like this list for looking at both sides of some decisions. It helped me a lot in learning some of the things I have to think about and which way to go. I find it a fairly non-biased explanation.
Part 1:https://www.keeperofthehome.org/2012/02/1o-decisions-for-parents-of-newborns.html
Part 2: https://www.keeperofthehome.org/2012/02/10-decision-of-newborn-parents-part-2.html

Another TY for these articles! I like sending DH articles that we can read and discuss. Sometime I think he thinks I make all of these decisions up!

thefuturemrschase · May 2013

Normal 0 0 1 97 556 4 1 682 11.518 0 0 0

No because we believe that the risk of injecting high levels of aluminum and increasing out child?s chance of being jaundice outweigh the risk that our child has of developing a clotting disorder. We will take the following precautions to minimize risk- breastfeed our infant early on so that he will receive colostrums which is high in vitamin K, I the mother will eat a diet high in vitamin K in the weeks/month leading up to delivery. We will revisit out decision not to have the vitamin K administered if our infant has any of these risk factors-low birth weight, delivery by forceps or vacuum, extremely fast or extremely prolonged labor or pushing.

The above are the notes I have written in my birth plan draft.

Haley.Beth · May 2013

I will be supplementing my diet with high levels of Vitamin K the last few weeks, as well as the first week or so of LO's life. If the birth is not traumatic and there is no reason to suspect a bleed, I will not have LO get the shot. If babies were meant to have such high levels of a vitamin pumped into their bodies, our breastmilk would provide it, in my opinion, and I would like to avoid the jaundice we had problems with in my previous LO that did receive the injection. However, if I have any reason to suspect the birth was traumatic for LO in any way, she will get the shot as a precautionary measure. I consented to it for dd simply because I was hooked up to pitocin for 16 hours.