Hello. I'm 38 weeks pregnant and still undecided on whether I want my baby to be injected with vitamin K at birth. My gut tells me it is better not to intervene and let the baby build his vitamin k levels naturally. However, I personally don't know anyone who opted out and their babies seem to develop normally - though who knows if normal is optimal. Probably not. Only online have I seen people claiming the injection has somehow damaged the baby, caused jaundice, etc. Such assumptions are prevalent on natural living, homeopathy forums which I sometimes read out of curiosity and not necessarily because I find them trustworthy. Still, they made me do some research and question this routine practice.
Trying to gain a better understanding, I read this little book by a British midwife Sarah Wickham ("Vitamin K and the Newborn"). The fact that this tiny book was all I could find on the topic suggests either it is under researched or nobody really cares about it, meaning there's no obvious problem with the practise. Or?
So I read the book and was left no less confused. Dr Wickham presents the studies that conclude the effectiveness of the vitamin K injection to prevent VKDB in newborns but at the same time points out why the results could be interpreted in a different way (mostly that inability to produce enough vitamin K and stop internal bleeding was caused by some external factor like a newborn baby not being properly fed or cared and not purely because the injection was not given). On the other hand, although she states why it makes sense why parents choose not to inject vitamin K, there's no real research to prove that. Also, before reading the book, I was leaning towards oral supplementation (my husband is Japanese and as we researched, we found out they give the newborns vitamin K syrup, not the injections there; and it is optional here in the UK too) but it's deemed less effective and possibly damaging to a still undeveloped digestive system of a newborn.
Now I'm considering either injection or nothing. During my last antenatal appointment, I asked my midwife for advice but she just said that I'm the one to choose and there's still time...Well, not much time anymore! I'm in a way jealous of my parents who brought me and my siblings up in the dark times with no internet and Soviet mentality where you take whatever is given to you and don't question. I asked my mom about injections back then and she said that we were taken away for several injections at birth but she of course had no idea what it was. She sounded very laid back when talking about that.
So here I am, asking internet strangers and not my own parents for advice! Any parents who had the same dilemma? What was your decision and what made you reach it? Any afterthoughts? Regret? Relief?
Thank you.
Trying to gain a better understanding, I read this little book by a British midwife Sarah Wickham ("Vitamin K and the Newborn"). The fact that this tiny book was all I could find on the topic suggests either it is under researched or nobody really cares about it, meaning there's no obvious problem with the practise. Or?
So I read the book and was left no less confused. Dr Wickham presents the studies that conclude the effectiveness of the vitamin K injection to prevent VKDB in newborns but at the same time points out why the results could be interpreted in a different way (mostly that inability to produce enough vitamin K and stop internal bleeding was caused by some external factor like a newborn baby not being properly fed or cared and not purely because the injection was not given). On the other hand, although she states why it makes sense why parents choose not to inject vitamin K, there's no real research to prove that. Also, before reading the book, I was leaning towards oral supplementation (my husband is Japanese and as we researched, we found out they give the newborns vitamin K syrup, not the injections there; and it is optional here in the UK too) but it's deemed less effective and possibly damaging to a still undeveloped digestive system of a newborn.
Now I'm considering either injection or nothing. During my last antenatal appointment, I asked my midwife for advice but she just said that I'm the one to choose and there's still time...Well, not much time anymore! I'm in a way jealous of my parents who brought me and my siblings up in the dark times with no internet and Soviet mentality where you take whatever is given to you and don't question. I asked my mom about injections back then and she said that we were taken away for several injections at birth but she of course had no idea what it was. She sounded very laid back when talking about that.
So here I am, asking internet strangers and not my own parents for advice! Any parents who had the same dilemma? What was your decision and what made you reach it? Any afterthoughts? Regret? Relief?
Thank you.
