Any downsides to oral vitamin k??

[Earthmama97]

We are planning a homebirth this time round with our fourth. My midwife offers the injection, oral vitamin k or nothing at all it's up to us. We know we won't do the injection but we are debating the oral. Are there any downsides to using the oral or is it considered 100% safe?? I like the idea of having that reassurance though the risks of course are extremelly low as well as being able to tell the Ped we gave Vit K LOL. Maybe silly reasoning but... So do tell if there are any reasons NOT to give the oral. Thanks!!

[melanie_rabbitbarn]

Not that I know of. We are planning to give the oral Vitamin K. I think the protocol I want is 2mg at birth and 1mg weekly for 12 weeks. Supposed to be a more effective oral protocol. The Vitamin K informed consent form my midwife gave us lists no negatives to the oral. It has the advantage of not over-dosing the baby on Vitamin K like the shot does.

[earthie_mama]

None that I know of. I use nothing, because I believe there a reason babies aer all born with low vit. K, and I don't want to mwess with that. Beyond that, I think its a great option fofr those who choose vit K. Better than the shot for sure!

[hapersmion]

We did the oral drops. However, someone mentioned afterwards that it was technically exposing the baby to something other that breast milk - just like giving him a drop of cow's milk or juice would do. It's only a tiny bit, but it's something to think about, allergy-wise.

I'm not sure what we'll do next time. We might go ahead and do the drops again - or we might just order them, and then after the birth decide whether we want to give them or not. My DS had some bruising and scraping on his bottom, so I figured it was a good idea to go ahead and give it, but if the next DC has an extra-gentle birth we might not feel like the vit. K is needed. I can always take the drops myself before and after birth for a little extra insurance.