who administers oral vitamin K?

[swl73]

Grateful for any input!

We've decided to go with oral vitamin K, 2 mg at birth and then at 3-5 days and 4-6 weeks. We ordered liquid vitamin K from birthwithlove.com that has 2 mg per drop.

My question is: Can we administer it to the baby ourselves? My midwife said that our pediatrician can do it, and our pediatrician said our midwife can do it. Basically, neither of them want to do it. Is there any reason we shouldn't do it ourselves? And if so, do we just put the drop in the baby's mouth?

Also, is it risky not to do the Vitamin K shot if we plan to circumcise?

Thanks in advance for any responses!

[onlyboys]

Yes, it is risky not to do the vitamin K shot if you plan to circumcise. Any surgery in the first few weeks of life would be an indication for vitamin K. I would encourage you to visit the Case Against Circumcision board here, and especially read this thread: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=112410 . Please think and study long and hard about the consequences for your actions with regard to your son's foreskin. Cosmetic surgery is not safe for newborns. There is not a health reason to circumcise.

Good luck.

[Yoshua]

The only reason to administer vitamin K is if your baby has major bruising or if they are going to undergo any form of surgery in the first month of life.

The initial breast milk is filled with Vitamin K by design but undergoing a circumcision really is a good reason to get the injection of vitamin K.


I have to ask though, why are you worried about the injection of Vitamin K if you plan on circumcizing? What are your reasons?


If it is due to pain the circumcision will be much more painful than a shot of vitamin K and you will really want to make sure your babies blood will clot right if you DO go through with a circumcision.

I would urge you not to get the circumcision if you are worried about the pain your baby will endure..... no amount of initial anestesia will help with the 3-6 weeks of recovery and no pain killers to ease the pain.

[Houdini]

Why are you even considering circumcision?

[chandasz]

Circumcision is a personal choice and is sometimes done for religious reasons.

I do recommend that you do research on this surgery before choosing it.

Keep in mind that circumcision need not be done at birth. It can be done weeks later after breastfeeding and bonding are fully established. This will also give your son the time to have his own vitamin K established eliminating the need for the oral or shot.

If you do this immediately following the birth-- you must do vitamin K to reduce the risk of the blood not clotting. Also, have a LC that you can contact if necessary.

[swl73]

Thanks for the responses - much appreciated. My husband I will research and talk more about the circumcision decision.

But my larger question - particularly since we don't know if we are having a girl or a boy - we can still really use some feedback on:

Who usually administers oral vitamin K?

We have purchased the liquid vitamin K from birthwithlove.com. Can we give it to the baby ourselves? Does it need to be done by a midwife or pediatrician for some reason? Our midwives suggested we talk to our pediatrician to have her do it, and the pediatrician said that she never does it, that it can be done by the midwife. Basically neither party is willing to do it. Is it fine for us to do it ourselves? Is it just a simple matter of putting a drop in the baby's mouth? (If so, seems like we ought to be able to manage that!)

Any further feedback is much appreciated!

-Sandi

[Rockies5]

I don't know who "usually" does it.

we did it ourselves. it's just a few drops in the mouth.

[onlyboys]

If the midwife is not comfortable doing it, which I don't really understand, then you would need to do it yourself, if it's important to you.

Good luck as you think and talk and study the issues surrounding birth. It's overwhelming at points.

[mama_daba]

my midwife seems to assume that the parents do it. she never made any indication that she or a pediatrician would give the vitamin k but that it is for the parents to give.

[sogriffin]

I delivered with a CNM at a FSBC. She fully supported our decision to do the oral drops. I did have to sign a waiver that said I declined the shot, and then I was the one to administer it. Really, it was just a drop in the baby's mouth, no medical professional necessary.
I forget what the schedule was exactly, but I think it was a drop on day 1 and then again on day 7. I think it's also supposed to be done again at 3 weeks, but we skipped this because by then the baby's doing her own vit K thing.

[kaylee18]

Please don't let anyone amputate part of your baby's penis. Having an intact DH, I can assure you that there is no problem caused by having a whole body.

[riomidwife]

Originally Posted by Yoshua

The only reason to administer vitamin K is if your baby has major bruising or if they are going to undergo any form of surgery in the first month of life.

This is not true. Babies can and DO develop Vitamin K Deficiancy Bleeding (VKDB) in the absence of visible bruising. I have seen 2 cases like this and so have many other midwives I know. BTW, late-onset VKDB is far more common in exclusively breastfed babies.

In my practice, if parents elect oral K they puchase it themselves. We usually do the first dose together so they can get the hang of it, and then they typically do subsequent doses on their own.