vitamin k shot?

[BanditaMamacita]

I had decided that I didn't think any of the routine shots/tests/etc that hospitals do at birth are necessary and that I wasn't worried about skipping them for my UC, but the Vitamin K thread in B&B has gotten me a lil nervous. Are you guys skipping it? Is anyone still planning on getting it? And if we decided to get it, is it something we could get at the ped or OB office after the birth, rather than having to go to the ER?

[KristaDJ]

I didn't do it in my UC and won't do it in any others. You can take VitK supplements after the birth and pass them through your breastmilk if you are really worried but there just really isn't much reason to be from what I have read about it.

[BanditaMamacita]

That's pretty much how i've always felt, but all the talk about potential brain bleeds got me a lil freaked out. Thanks for getting back to me

[Kidzaplenty]

I have usually passed on the shot. I don't think it is necessary in an unmanaged birth, in general. However, with my last birth, the OB pulled on my babies head and left large bruises on him. So, I did get the shot, JIC there was other internal damage I could not see. He did end up with tiny "bleed spots" all over his face and forehead, so I am sure we did the right thing.

However, I will not get it again unless the circumstances warrent it.

[MsBlack]

You can order oral vit k drops online if you like--you give 2 drops to the baby soon after birth, again at 2wks, and again at 4wks. The birth supply companies sell it--some of them, anyway.

I agree that a baby who is born bruised (significantly bruised), whether from someone's manipulations or just a rough passage through the pelvis, is one I'd want to see get the vit k. Not so much with an unbruised baby, tho I add that it's not just bruised babies who get the vit k deficiency bleeds, any baby can. Bruising is just one risk factor. But anyway if you get your own, you don't have to worry about going anywhere for vit k.

[Happiestever]

I was recently told by a midwife/herbalist to take Alfalfa tablets to help with the stores of Vitamin K of baby and mom (or you can infuse alfalfa in your teas). Which also helps with pp hemm. I ordered them yesterday and am very interested to see the results in helping with clotting after the birth. She said she has seen the bleeding stop so suddenly in women who have taken alfalfa. Very encouraging for me as I too was thinking about Vitamin K, with pp hemm in particular.

I just read to gradually build up the dosage until you are taking 2 after every meal and two before bed. As well as taking a few immediately after the birth, then none for 5 days.

[Serenyd]

We're doing the oral vitamin k. I didn't w/ Caden and all was fine but I think it's worth the $26 dollars I spent to have that small peace of mind that we've covered our bases. Just my

ordered mine here

birth with love has drops and info on dosing

[pjs]

We skipped supplementing with ds #2, and with dd I supplemented myself (though I've been reading that's not as effective as I originally thought) as it was a precipitous labor and there was some bruising. Now with #4, I was unsure of what to do and decided to go with the shot after talking with our family doc (very natural minded). I have extremely fast labors and my doc said that is a risk factor. He suggested we could wait and see, but at this point I just want my mind made up and free to move on to other things I need to address...

[jeniferlm]

Vitamin K shots are for the 1 in 10,000 children who have a liver disorder that causes clotting problems. The vitamin K shot carries a 1 in 500 chance of the child getting leukemia. Unless there is major bruising without a reason, I wouldn't use vitamin K. I still wouldn't use the shot regardless. I have moms eat vitamin K rich foods for several weeks prior to birth which is what I do as well. Since I've started this I've never had a pp hem nor have I had a baby be born bruised of my own.

My best advice is to research every aspect of it and make your decision based on facts and not fear.

[MsBlack]

Sorry, but I have to point out that the studies linking vit k shot to leukemia have been pretty well disproven. As for 1 in 10,000 babies who have liver disorders being the main ones at risk for vit k deficiency bleeding....it may be true that 1 in 10,000 babies have a liver disorder that makes them prone to blood clotting problems, that is only one risk factor. There are several risk factors, although I agree that it appears that very very few babies are at risk all in all. It is not something that I worry about--at all. But still, people DO need the facts in order to decide. And unfortunately the first fact is not so factual....and the second fact mentioned gives only a partial picture.

Interestingly enough, the incidence of vit k deficiency bleeding seems to vary regionally--as high as 1 in 2000 in some places, as few as 7 in 100,000 in others. There was a thread on this in the Birth Pros forum some months back, a handful of studies were noted. I guess it turns out that we just don't have that many hard and fast 'facts' about this problem! It is also true that vit k administration does not prevent hemorragic disease in all neonates anyway--just in enough that has become considered (medically) as a necessity.

[Happiestever]

1 in 500 getting leikemia seems a little off to me. Though I think it is great advice to eat Vitamin K rich foods. We never eat enough greens here, or in America for that matter. Yay for veggies!

[pjs]

Thanks Ms. Black- I too thought the leukemia link was very loose at best.

[Sijae]

I didn't do Vit k. for any of my kids. I just don't think it's necessary and the effects are unknown. The dosage is many thousand times more than a normal adult has and I think it's suspicious to think that normal humans need a supplement at birth. It's another case of treating everyone to save a very few.

Laura

[gossamerwindweb]

I think of the vit K shot the same way as the eye ointment... like Sijae said... treating everyone to save very few. I just didn't see the point in my UC. With my daughter's birth, they used a suction cup, and she had a bruise on the back of her head for days, so I am sure the vit K was a good plan (though I now know the suction cup was not really necessary, nor was the induction, counted pushing, etc, etc.) so if she had been a UC again I don't think it would have been necessary.

[onyxravnos]

i bought some oral vit K..... I may use it on me or baby or both i'm just going to play it by ear. And don't forget you can always take baby into hospital afterwards and get one. "oops baby came to fast, hey could i get that vit K shot?"

[etsdtm99]

my DS had horrible bruising on his head just from being born (he had a rather large - 15 in - head).. i pushed him out, no one pulled on anything or touched him at all and his head was really bruised .. we agreed to the vit k shot for that reason .. if i saw that kind of bruising again it would make me really nervous to not have some kind of vit. k plan in place (eating foods ahead of time, oral vit k, shot, etc.)

[KimProbable]

We chose not to do vit K for our UC based on the reading I did during my pregnancy. We ended up with one of the rare cases where there actually were issues with DD's clotting factors 2.5 months after she was born and she ended up spending a night in the hospital and needing numerous blood draws to monitor her reaction to the vit K that was given then. My feeling now is that if we have another baby I'll order some oral drops to give, just for peace of mind.

[reducereuserecycle]

clotting factors 2.5 months after she was born

if you don't sharing...how did you know then that there was a problem?

[jljeppson]

I didn't do it with my UC's and haven't with some of my HB w/midwife births. I take my babies for a quick check up with our family doc within the first three days after birth (and to get the PKU) and with my first UC I asked our doc at the time about it and he saw no reason to administer Vit K of any kind. He did it at birth for his hospital births, but a few days out what would be the point to start the doses? As a midwife, I offer the oral but don't push it. I don't mind administering it if asked but the only time I would request to administer it is if there is a good bit of bruising that I'm keeping an eye on. There have been reports that link Vit K to jaundice, but they appear to be limited to high doses (25-30mg) given to preemies and to a much lesser extent term infants. Therapeutic doses appear to have no effect on the bili count.

[KimProbable]

Originally Posted by reducereuserecycle

if you don't sharing...how did you know then that there was a problem?

She started getting bruises from things that hadn't bruised her before (teething necklace, snaps on her diapers, etc.). About a dozen showed up within two days.