Vitamin K

[ICantGetMuchSleep]

What is everyone doing about Vitamin K injection after birth?

I've said that I am happy to have the vitamin k injection. Baby definately needs the vitamin k and injection is the most effective way to administer it.

There has been some investigation into a possible linnk between vitamin k injections and childhood leukaemia but the evidence is inconclusive.

You can opt for an oral course of vitamin k, but this can be less effective.

If you want to opt out of vitamin k altogther then it is reccommended that you have a physiological third stage and delay the clamping of the cord.

Info on vitamin k is available in this Dept. of Health circular. It is quite old (1998) but as far as I am aware it is still current guidance.

Im unsure why you wouldnt give vit K at birth.

We didn't give vit K to DS (11days). I had a physiological 3rd stage, we delayed cord clamping, and the birth was straight forward, no interventions eg forceps (which I would have given vit K after).

That said, I now have a tiny flutter of panic every now and again that something bad will happen because of it. So for any future children I would probably give oral doses for peace of mind.

chloe, some people are wary of it because in the 80s it was suggested that there might be a possible link between the injection and childhood leukaemia. However, this link has since been disproved by further studies. What is clear is that there is a definite link between a vitamin k deficiency and the possibility of baby bleeding to death. Personally I'm opting for the injection.

I was agonising over this (DC was due 20/10 but still safely tucked up at present!) but in the end we are going to opt for the injection.

With the oral does you have to have 3 spread over the course of a month of more before enough is administered.

In my pregnancy addled worrisome brain, I just couldn't stop thinking about what if we were to have a car accident on the way home from the hospital or bubba was to have a knock before full dose of oral Vit K had been completed. All I'm sure unlikely to happen but was doing my head in, so we're opting for the injection to get it out of the way. One less thing to worry about later.

We're going for the injection so that, like MummyB says, we know it's done and don't have to worry about it later.

These are some of the reasons why you might not give it though this is a summary from 2001 and as has been said I think the research done on a link between giving Vit K and childhood cancer has been discredited www.aims.org.uk/Journal/Vol13No2/vitk.htm. We decided not to have it as very easy birth at home no trauma etc. I defo would have had it if the birth was more traumatic though.