Why do parents go on to refuse vitamin K shots for their little one?

If you are pregnant with your first child your OB might tell you that you might have to get a shot of vitamin K. Now the question is would it be really necessary. Most of the health experts are of the opinion that you do get a dose of vitamin K at the time of birth. Babies do lack in the supply of this vitamin at the time of birth that is necessary for the blood to clot in a normal manner. For a baby who does not get enough supply of this vitamin there is always a risk of Vitamin deficient K deficient bleeding and that goes by the name of VKDB. This can go on to because bleeding or bruising in each and every organ of the human body. A majority of cases you will come across are prone to brain damage. Pretty much on the lines of pregnancy and pain medication you need to take car.

pregnancy and pain medication

The risk of babies to be deficient in this vitamin is more so in the first 6 months of life. The reason being that the supply  of vitamin K comes from the food that we eat or the healthy bacteria that is found in our intestines. This is till that point of time when they reach around 6 months of age when they eat solid foods.  Babies are not going to have enough supply of vitamin K. If you are a breastfeeding mothers are not going to have a lot of vitamin K in their breast milk to protect their babies from deficiency of vitamin K. Pain medication pregnancy would be a timely intervention at this point of time.

Now the question is what the reasons are for parents refusing dose of vitamin K for their new born babies. There was a study in the early part of childhood which did go on to suggest a link between vitamin K and cancer. But on further side it did emerge that no further relation did exist between vitamin K and cancer. This mismatch of information is still available online. Till date there are some families who are delaying the shot of vitamin K. The simple reason being that they are looking at other options so as to receive vitamin K.

In some form of European countries, families are allowed to choose an oral type of vitamin K. But this would be a lot more effective than a shot to receive in terms of preventive bleeding. In countries like Us there is oral supplementation of vitamin K that has not been advocated till date.

There would be no single parent who does not support the idea of not providing a shot of vitamin K for their babies. If you refuse do weigh the pros or cons of your decision. Just because someone else is refusing does not mean that you also need to refuse. Here the safety of your baby assumes considerable importance.