Vitamin K Injection

Vitamin K is a group of water soluble vitamins, having important blood clotting properties. Vitamin K is produced by our body but not in the quantity which is required to meet the daily amount of vitamin K. Providing newborn babies with the vitamin K injection is a common practice in the US. But surprisingly, only 1 out of 10,000 newborn babies in US suffer with the vitamin K deficiency bleeding. In a classic case of VKDB (vitamin K deficiency bleeding), the baby acquires the risk of getting bruised or bled within the first 24 hours of birth. Vitamin K deficiency bleeding includes, nose bleeding, mouth bleeding or umbilical stump bleeding. In the rest of the cases, the newborn baby may suffer with internal bleeding or hemorrhage, which occurs after the first week of birth.

Vitamin K Injection at Birth
Most of the VKBD babies are actually the poorly breastfed babies. Basically, all newborn babies have vitamin K deficiency to some extent, because their guts are sterile of the useful bacteria that manufacture vitamin K. Also, breastfeeding at the later stage is not sufficient enough to provide the amount of vitamin K, which is required by the baby. Worst is the case with the babies who are fed with the formula food, instead of the breast milk. The formula food contains vitamin K but it cannot match up with the vitamin K levels of the colostrum. Hence, breastfeeding is always important, as it includes as much natural vitamin K as possible.

In case, the baby doesn't get the required dosage of vitamin K, there are chances of some severe consequences like internal bleeding, coma or death. To avoid these consequences, the baby is provided with a vitamin K injection. The injection is also necessary for the premature babies, babies born of a breech delivery and those with certain inborn liver diseases. There are a few other cases in which the injection becomes necessary. For instance, if the mother was taking certain drugs like anticonvulsants, that are given as a treatment for epilepsy.

Injection Dose
There is a lot of controversy about providing these injections to newborn babies. It is observed that larger doses of vitamin K can be a cause of jaundice amongst newborns. Hence, many researchers suggest that the babies should be given the oral dosage instead of the injection. If necessary, the injection dose should always be less than 0.5mg, while the oral dose should be around 200mcg per week, for 5 weeks. It is also advised that the nursing mother should be supplemented with 2.5mg of vitamin K rich foods or the vitamin supplements, for 10 weeks after the childbirth.

Side Effects
Apparently, different researchers have different perspectives about the vitamin K injection. Many experts suggest that a moderate dose is always ideal, while several other researchers do state the possibilities of several side effects. In their opinion, higher dosage of vitamin K can lead to jaundice in newborns. Some researchers state that the injection increases the risk of childhood leukemia and several other types of cancer, which are avoidable in normal conditions. To stay away from the possible complications, it is better to provide gradual oral dosage of vitamin K to the infant, as well as the mother.

In most cases, it is possible that the baby may demonstrate low vitamin K levels at birth, but it won't be counted as the vitamin K deficiency, that necessitates the vitamin K injection. The above write-up leads us towards a few important conclusions: first is the importance of breastfeeding, second is the inclusion of vitamin k in the diet of a nursing mother and third is the benefits of gradual doses of vitamin K for infants.