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what newborn procedures are you getting/not getting and why?

post #1 of 32
12/26/09 at 1:30pm
Thread Starter 
I have done some research and some of the newborn procedures like the vitamin k shot, eye goop, heel prick etc. and though I'm not much for interventions I don't see much risk to them. Just wondering if anyone has decided either way what to get and what not to and your personal reasons on it, or if you've got information I could look at either way I'd be interested!
Note: I am in Canada so I think that affects a few procedures, but most are the same.

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post #2 of 32
12/26/09 at 1:53pm
The only thing my little one will get is the PKU. My midwife does it right here at my house and if she can while the little one is nursing so they don't even notice.

No eye goop. No Vitamin Shots. And Definately no Vaxes.
post #3 of 32
12/26/09 at 2:12pm
I'm doing pku and my baby will most likely have a lot of heel pricks. Both of my boys were severely dehydrated and jaundiced after birth. So we're scheduling a hospital heel prick at 2 days after birth to see if we can fight off the hospitalization the other two had. I'll probably schedule a 2 day and a 4 day and maybe a 6 day depending on the numbers.

Oh but nothing else, no vaxes or goops.
post #4 of 32
12/26/09 at 3:35pm
We will NOT being doing eye goop or Hep B shot.
We will be doing vitamin K. I've been on anticoagulant therepy for my whole pregnancy, including baby aspirin. The BA does pass to baby so I think vitamin K would be a good idea.
The PKU will be done, but not at the hospy. It's not very accurate before the baby has been digesting milk for 24 hours...and we always leave way before then. Instead, we're requesting a filled in lab form to take to our local lab after my milk comes in.
post #5 of 32
12/26/09 at 6:55pm
Definitely no Hep B. Probably no eye goop-I'm not sure my midwife even carries it, but I'll ask her what she thinks about it. No vit K unless the birth is traumatic for the babe.

We will be doing the newborn screening (PKU, etc) but not until a couple of days after the birth when I have to take him to the ped. I had a false positive when I was born, so I want to make sure the test is accurate.
post #6 of 32
12/26/09 at 7:03pm
They can test for PKU but I do not want the Hep B shot. They give oral drops of Vit K which I am fine with. I do not want the eye goop stuff bc I have no STDs so it seems unncessary. Not sure if I can refuse it, will have to ask the doctor at my next appt.
post #7 of 32
12/26/09 at 7:14pm
Just the PKU test when we go in for the newborn checkup, which was at two weeks with our last one.

With my oldest, when I was young and not so well informed, I let them do the Vit. K shot (sure, it's a vitamin, that's good, right?) as well as the PKU. With my second, who was also a hospital birth, I declined the Vit. K but let them do the eye goop since I was worried about him picking up an infection in the hospital. He was the only one to get the goop and the only one to get an eye infection. I'm thinking their goop applying technique maybe wasn't so sterile. And he got the PKU test as well. With the third, a homebirth, we did nothing but the PKU at the checkup. And, as I said, that's the plan for this one too.
post #8 of 32
12/26/09 at 7:30pm
No eye goop because I have been married to the same man for almost 20 years and we do not have any STD's.

No Hep B shot, because I don't have it and it is transmitted by infected blood or bodily fluids which I don't expect my baby to be exposed to any time soon!

No Vitamin K except for traumatic birth because I don't believe that man knows better than God how our bodies should work.

PKU will be performed after my milk comes in at the pediatricians office because it is a metabolic test and that means baby must be metabolizing breastmilk for it to be accurate.


For me the risk is exposing your baby to unnecessary chemicals and the pain of shots and needles. I don't want my babies first moments and days to be filled with unnecessary tests, discomfort and pain.
post #9 of 32
12/26/09 at 9:01pm
No eye goop for us. My husband and I have never had any other sexual partners, so there is no question about STDs, which means there's no reason to try to protect the baby from any potential diseases.

We'll only do vitamin K in the case of a traumatic birth, which isn't likely in our situation.

We'll have the newborn screening done at a few days old w/our mw. We had a lay mw last time, so our ped had to send us to the hospital for it, but since we have an LM this time, I think we'll just do it with her (even though we'll have to pay cash), so that I don't have to load up two little boys and a baby and go to a yucky, germy hospital, by myself (or maybe with the help of Grandma, but even that was a little nutty last time with just one older child)!

Um, hmm, is there anything else?
post #10 of 32
12/26/09 at 9:57pm
We aren't doing goop or Vitamin K. If I were to ever do Vitamin K I would do the drops.
I haven't decided about the PKU test.

We don't vax at all so that isn't an issue.

I think if I were concerned about eye infections I would just wait until my milk came in and use that for the baby's eyes.
post #11 of 32
12/26/09 at 11:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gracerenee View Post
no eye goop because i have been married to the same man for almost 20 years and we do not have any std's.

No hep b shot, because i don't have it and it is transmitted by infected blood or bodily fluids which i don't expect my baby to be exposed to any time soon!

No vitamin k except for traumatic birth because i don't believe that man knows better than god how our bodies should work.

Pku will be performed after my milk comes in at the pediatricians office because it is a metabolic test and that means baby must be metabolizing breastmilk for it to be accurate.


For me the risk is exposing your baby to unnecessary chemicals and the pain of shots and needles. I don't want my babies first moments and days to be filled with unnecessary tests, discomfort and pain.
ditto!
post #12 of 32
12/26/09 at 11:06pm
in NY state, the antibiotic eye ointment and vit K shot aren't optional, from what I understand...and I'm getting the newborn screening, so the only thing I'm deferring is the Hep B vaccine.
post #13 of 32
12/26/09 at 11:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jabeen View Post
in NY state, the antibiotic eye ointment and vit K shot aren't optional, from what I understand...and I'm getting the newborn screening, so the only thing I'm deferring is the Hep B vaccine.
Everyone I've talked to in NY just immediately wipes it out of their eyes, LOL.
post #14 of 32
12/26/09 at 11:39pm
I'm in Texas, and the eye goop is "mandatory," but my MW told me she can't do anything to baby I don't want done and she has a waiver for me to sign.

This baby will only be getting the PKU screen. DD had all of it, but I hadn't done my research before she was born. We're doing a lot of things differently this time.
post #15 of 32
12/27/09 at 12:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ObliviousAnnette View Post
I think if I were concerned about eye infections I would just wait until my milk came in and use that for the baby's eyes.
Actually in our state (VA) my MW says the law states that the eyes have to be 'treated' and that colostrum (applied topically) counts! Not that you can't refuse 'treatment' anyway, but I don't find topical application of colostrum too objectionable!
post #16 of 32
12/27/09 at 12:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by moondiapers View Post
Everyone I've talked to in NY just immediately wipes it out of their eyes, LOL.
that's what i'm planning to do!
post #17 of 32
12/27/09 at 2:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by leila1213 View Post
Actually in our state (VA) my MW says the law states that the eyes have to be 'treated' and that colostrum (applied topically) counts! Not that you can't refuse 'treatment' anyway, but I don't find topical application of colostrum too objectionable!
haha! Too awesome!!! It is so nice that some of the "they" people actually get it!
post #18 of 32
12/27/09 at 3:54am
Definitely no eye goop. I think we will get the Vit K but need to do more research on the risks involved and make sure we feel the potential benefits outweigh the risks. No Hep B and we are not entirely sure of our vaccine schedule yet--we will probably be loosely following the Sears schedule. Just got the book for Christmas. My baby will have blood sugar testing for probably 24 hours at least as I have insulin dependent GD and that makes the risk for hypoglycemia much higher.
post #19 of 32
12/27/09 at 1:50pm
No Hep B for sure. I don't see any need to vaccinate an infant against this condition because of how it is transmitted. No eye stuff, because my husband and I have only ever been with each other and I do not have gonorrhea. It's supposedly "required" in Michigan too, but it says right on my form from the midwife that there's really nothing they can do if you don't do it. I don't want to mess with my baby's eyes and cause it discomfort and interrupt our bonding for no reason.

I would consent to Vit K in the event of a traumatic birth but as of now I'm refusing. The risks are miniscule and I don't really feel like my baby's first few hours on earth should be filled with injections and pain.

PKU I will do because it is fairly non-invasive and the problems if you do have it are life-threatening.
post #20 of 32
12/27/09 at 3:42pm
Thread Starter 
wow! thanks for all the responses. For those of you getting vitamin k "in the case of a traumatic birth" can you tell me more about why?

I had heard mom's vit k levels (like if I drink a lot of nettle or alfalfa infusion don't always pass on to baby), and that the drops are not easily absorbed?

Does anyone have a good resource on the vit k shot? I think the mw said there were no weird preservatives in it here in Canada. Has anyone heard of a bad effect or experienced one from the shot?

Luckily, Hep b is not given in Canada to newborns.
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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Archives › Pregnancy Archives › February 2010 › what newborn procedures are you getting/not getting and why?