[mommy amber]

trying to decide whether to advise midwife for or against the vitamin k shot and the eye drops. dd#1 had both...though we delayed the drops, but she was also born in hospital and such things were routine. since lo#2 will be arriving at home, it's our choice whether to administer or not...
I did some very cursory research and it seems neither is REALLY necessary, esp. the eye drops.
what are others thoughts on this?

 

[dogmom327]

Just my opinion of course...eye drops are completely unnecessary unless you have a specific STD (I can never remember which one). We skipped the vit k. We signed the waiver in advance but our MW always has it on hand and if DS had come out looking particularly banged up, we would have used it.

 

[kohlby]

I am leaning towards only doing vitamin K if it's a traumatic birth or my baby comes early. I am having a scheduled c-section at 39 weeks and my other kids were 41 and 42 weeks, so niether of those are a likely an issue.

I do need to talk to my perinatologist though since I'm supposed to take baby aspirin daily as well as heparin for 6 weeks after the birth. (And am currently doing both now). I'm planning on not taking the baby aspirin for at least a couple weeks after the birth just in case it can influence the clotting. (Heparin isn't an issue since it doesn't cross into the placenta nor into breastmilk).

The eye drops were a much easier decision for us. I've always skipped them without a second thought.

 

[mamaw/two]

None of my kids has had either. We don't do the eye drops because I don't have an STD (it is used to prevent blindness caused by either clamidia or gonorea, I don't remember which). They found that in the poor urban area's, even when they tested in early pregnancy for the STD the women usually ended up with it by the time the baby was born. So hospitals started giving the eye drops as a precaution. As for the vitamin K, newborns don't have much in their system at birth, so in the case of a tramatic birth it might be something to consider. I've heard that one of the reason's that Jewish people wait until the 7th day to circumcise, is that the baby has built up enough vit k to clot well.
Sorry for the terrible spelling!

 

[tak]

I have a friend who is a doctor and she said the one routine procedure she thought was completely unnecessary was the ethromyacin eye goop. The only time she said she could understand it being done was if the mom admitted to not knowing if she had contracted an STD while pregnant. Of course, if a mom comes in with no record of prenatal care it's up to her to inform the staff that she does not have gonorrhoea and refuse the eye goop even if they push it. In that case they're really just trying to cover their asses because they don't have anything in writing.

 

[nicoolmama]

They are both unnecessary. The eye drops are for the risks associated to baby's eyes if the mother has gonorrhea. It is an old school practice that just became the norm. Our pediatrician even told us this. The Vitamin K, I believe is unnecessary, but that could be up for debate. Ask your doctor or future pediatrician and then weigh the good against the bad.
We chose not to do either and our little boy didn't lack for it.
Good luck!

 

[savvybabygrace]

We don't do either. I think the eye drops/ointment is completely unneccessary unless you have the STD. Totally intrusive to the baby!

We've already discussed this with our hbm and she's agrees that we won't do eye gunk or Vit K - unless the birth is traumatic for the baby. And then she carries oral Vit.K with her.

 

[dallasslynn]

I always refuse the drops/goop as I do not have an STD. And I allowed the Vit. K with #1 and refused with #2. I was not allowed to let the cord pulse with #1 and was with #2, that is why my vit. K decision was different with the 2. Letting the cord pulse and getting those last pumps of rich blood helps with vit. K. I do not plan on having either with this next baby.

 

[liliaceae]

Yep the eye drops are only necessary if you have an STD (I think it is gonorrhea and chlamydia), no other reason. The vitamin K is a tougher decision; as I understand it, it can prevent brain hemorrhaging caused by a rare disorder, and there are no proven risks to getting it. There was a study linking the vit K shot to leukemia, but it has since been debunked. We've decided to go with the vit K shot but not the eye drops.

 

[Haselnuss]

I've always used the oral vit K, and will this time - the risk of hemorrhaging isn't really predictable, but I want to avoid a shot.
I've been tested for those STDs, so I'm avoiding the eye drops.

 

[CookAMH]

We're not doing either, unless baby is bruised at birth. In that case, we would do the vit K shot unless we try to find drops on our own. From what I have heard, the shot is more K than needed, though theories tying the shot to leukemia have been debunked. I don't have ghonerrea (sp) or chlamydia so the eye goop is pointless and if it's not benefiting protection from that, it's hurting the good bacteria. No reason to medicate a healthy baby!

There will be no problem for us to decline them in May for our baby's birth at The Midwife Center.

There is probably some helpful info in this sticky:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=111440

 

[Gwen42]

This is what Dr. Sears says:

http://mothering.com/sections/expert...hive.html#vitk