Vitamin K for newborns?

[Zoeanne]

Does anyone have advice/information on vitamin K for newborns? I told my midwife I planned on refusing the vitamin k shot, and she asked if I'd be okay with the oral version. As I understand, butter oil is high in vit K, and if I've been getting plenty of that, the baby should be fine. Any thoughts?

This is from the Weston A Price website:

(http://www.westonaprice.org/Traditio...Illnesses.html)

VITAMIN K SHOT: Just say no! This is actually a vaccination that has been linked to childhood leukemia. The vitaminK is synthetic and it comes in a liquid that contains benzyl alcohol, carbolic acid, propylene glycol (which is antifreeze),acetic acid, hydrochloric acid, lecithin and castor oil—all these injected into the blood of your newborn. The rationalefor the shot is that infants don’t have vitamin K—needed for blood clotting—in their bloodstream for the first eight daysof life, so if there is bruising during delivery, or if he is in a car accident on the way home from the hospital, he mightbleed to death. But if Mom’s blood level is very high in vitamin K during pregnancy, some will go through the placentaand into the infant. Goose liver, cheese and egg yolks are excellent sources—and these are foods Mom should be eatinganyway. A cup or two of nettle tea each day starting about 36 weeks gestation is another way to build vitamin K stores.

[gardenmommy]

I have skipped it with my last 4 babies. They have all been just fine. I think that the vit. K/leukemia thing is not a for certain link. I haven't done all the research on it, but I don't know how strong that connection is. Doesn't make me want to run out and get the shot for my babies, but still.

[moondiapers]

My first child had it because she was a forceps delivery, I declined it for my second, and my 3rd and last child had it because I was on high doses of anticoagulants and bloodthinners during my whole pregnancy.

[Gingercat]

Here's Dr. Mercola's very recent excellent interview with a world known Vitamin K expert: The Dark Side of the Routine Newborn Vitamin K Shot

I listened to it although Vitamin K is not given at all to newborns here in Greece.

Apparently the oral version is much more preferable and the correlation of the shot with childhood leukemia is just a myth.

[desertpenguin]

there's 2 different forms of vitamin K, and i think the one that's usually found in animal sources doesn't help with the blood clotting factor, but i could be wrong. iirc one of the ladies that posts on here (or H&H/Allergies?) said that supplementing with one type of vitamin K seemed to cause nosebleeds in her son because of a deficiency elsewhere...nettles and red raspberry leaf infusions and eating leafy greens are a good way to go, imo. i found gentlebirth.org's information on vitamin K to be very helpful in deciding what route to take when i had my second child.

[lastrid]

My midwife's assistant told me to take alfalfa capsules to boost my own vitamin K. I would have accepted oral vitamin K had we had a traumatic birth, but really don't think it's necessary as a matter of course.

[aidanraynesmom]

Sorry to threadjack, but I've been wondering about this too. I would normally just make sure I was boosting my already large intake of leafy greens in the last months but now that I'm scheduled for a cesarean I'm reconsidering that. Would that qualify as traumatic? I know birth injuries are more likely so just in that instance?

I'm torn now, what would you do in this case? TIA!

[Holiztic]

My DS was born vaginally, drug-free, at home and because of how fast the labor was and how I could not help but push before I was 10cm, he ended up with a hematoma on the top of his head (size of a silver dollar or so). I had already refused everything during my pregnancy (including sonogram) so my midwife wasn't shocked when I refused the shot (I asked her if I could read the label and I said "oh, aluminum, yeah, I'm gonna go with no". Anyway, she told me where I could get oral K and I asked my mom to pick it up. My mom made an honest mistake and got "Liqiud K" potassium. So DS never got a K supplement, but his hematoma healed in under a day--totally gone.

Just anectodal, but thought I'd share.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by desertpenguin

there's 2 different forms of vitamin K, and i think the one that's usually found in animal sources doesn't help with the blood clotting factor, but i could be wrong. iirc one of the ladies that posts on here (or H&H/Allergies?) said that supplementing with one type of vitamin K seemed to cause nosebleeds in her son because of a deficiency elsewhere...nettles and red raspberry leaf infusions and eating leafy greens are a good way to go, imo. i found gentlebirth.org's information on vitamin K to be very helpful in deciding what route to take when i had my second child.

Supplementing with K2 stops my son's nosebleeds, he started getting them after I started giving him CLO--I think the EPA affects us particularly strongly in my family. Supplemental K2 stops my easy bruising as well--though of course it took me most of my life to realize that I bruise easier than other folks.

OP--check out the protocol in Japan, I think they use K2, orally, for newborns. I'm not sure, but it seems worth checking.

There's also been some discussion at wholehealthsource.blogspot.com about vit K and the difference between K1 and K2 during pregnancy and in newborns. K1 and K2 seem to transfer through the placenta differently.

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/search?q=prenatal

[Zoeanne]

Hmmm..thanks for all the advice. I have been drinking nettle tea, as well as alfalfa tea and rrl tea.

[desertpenguin]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

Supplementing with K2 stops my son's nosebleeds, he started getting them after I started giving him CLO--I think the EPA affects us particularly strongly in my family. Supplemental K2 stops my easy bruising as well--though of course it took me most of my life to realize that I bruise easier than other folks.

sorry for misremembering that info!

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by desertpenguin

sorry for misremembering that info!

Well, I couldn't tell if you meant us, or maybe Mammo2Sammo, who _does_ have issues supplementing K2 her kids, but I don't remember exactly what her issues are. The funny thing is, we have somewhat related health issues, yet opposite (but both extreme and unusual) reactions to the same nutrient! Surely it means something, but I don't know what.

[AJP]

I refused it for my second baby, but I did a lot of reading of studies and differing opinions to decide if I wanted to use the oral version. What I ended up doing was taking the oral stuff myself (K1, the plant form, and naturally derived), in addition to a diet high in both forms of K. I took the supplement the last 6 weeks of pregnancy. IIRC, it is mainly K1 that they say helps regulate blood clotting, and K2 is more related to mineral utilization from the blood, but that they interact and overlap somewhat.

My recollection is that the studies I read indicated high maternal blood levels of K1 through diet or supplementation do raise levels in breastmilk, but do not raise it in the newborn's blood. That indicates to me that there is a very good, natural reason newborns do not have elevated K1 in their blood even if mom's levels are high, and injecting it or giving a big oral dose to baby right after birth, in the absence of trauma, seemed wrong to me based on that. I think the study authors concluded that since high blood levels in mom don't translate to high blood levels in baby, that indicates a need to inject it into the newborn, but my interpretation is different. I think the same studies indicated blood levels in baby go up steadily over the days following birth if they are getting breastmilk from a mom with adequate blood levels or formula containing adequate levels. I decided I'd trust nature's wisdom and let my baby get it through (hopefully) optimal levels in breastmilk to build up his levels naturally. We did not have any birth trauma or blood disorders to deal with, or I may have made a different decision. I wish I still had the links to the studies, it took some digging to find them at the time but I don't seem to have the bookmarks now. Anyway, that's what felt right to me. My midwife agreed with me, but we both understood an apparently non-traumatic birth is no guarantee that baby is in the clear with regards to bleeding, she's had past clients whose babies ended up with internal bleeding with no known risks (no deaths, and only a couple of babies in over 1000 births she'd attended), but I did my own research to make an informed decision and find a comfort level, and she supported my choice.

[greenmamapagan]

I tolkd my mw I would only let bub have it if there was any trauma during the birth. She was fine with that and lined up a hospy to get it from if we needed it, which we didn't.

[almadianna]

moving to I'm pregnant.

[rootzdawta]

Moved from I'm Pregnant.

[claddaghmom]

Didn't do it.

I think the oral would still have winning arguments over the IM shot by Merck. But then I think if you have a true reason to use it, then you should probably be using the shot anyways...

I've also been puzzling over the K1/K2 issue. And the issue of colonization, antibiotics and maternal health.

[an_aurora]

We skipped it with both HB babies. I would only consider it if it were a rough birth or if I were going to circumcise a boy, but since his birth was gentle and he is intact, we skipped it.

[jdg]

Skipping it.

My midwife recommends that I start taking liquid chlorophyll, chlorophyll gel caps, or alfalfa tablets at 37 weeks pregnant. Any of these should add a substantial amount of Vitamin K to your system, which should in turn get passed along to your babe.

[bclare]

My midwife suggests it only if the baby comes out very bruised, or if we were planning to circ (which we aren't). I would personally trust them if they said we needed to do it, but they said it is rare they make this recc.