Vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB) happens due to low plasma concentrations of vitamin K. It is a serious concern to newborns and young babies. But it can largely be avoided by sufficient vitamin K shots. This article aims to identify the condition, explain the prevalence. You will also get guidelines for preventing VKDB in healthy-term infants and newborns. You should provide your baby with vitamin K shots. And the baby’s doctor should record the date, dosage, and mode of administration. Healthy newborn babies should receive 1 mg of vitamin K1 by intramuscular injection at birth or 3 × 2 mg of vitamin K1 by mouth at birth. Or 2 mg of vitamin K1 orally at birth and a weekly dosage of 1 mg orally for 3 months.
What is vitamin K? Why is it important?
Vitamin K is a substance that our body requires to form clots and stop bleeding. We’re going to get vitamin K from the food we eat. Some healthy bacteria that live in our intestines also provide some vitamin K. Babies are born with minimal vitamin K levels in their bodies. This leads to serious bleeding problems if they are not supplemented.
What is Vitamin K Deficiency, Bleeding, or VKDB?
Vitamin K bleeding deficiency or VKDB happens when infants can not stop bleeding because their blood does not have enough vitamin K to create a clot. Bleeding can happen either inside or outside the body. It can be difficult to notice where bleeding occurs inside the body. Typically, a child with VKDB can bleed into his or her intestines or into the brain. This may lead to brain damage. Even healthy infants who do not receive vitamin K at birth may develop VKDB at any time up to 6 months of age. There are three forms of VKDB based on the infant’s age when bleeding problems begin: early, classical, and late. More information on these types is given below.
Why are babies more likely to have vitamin K deficiency and to have VKDB?
All children of any sex, race, or ethnic background, are at higher risk for VKDB. They are at risk until they start consuming daily foods, usually 4-6 months of age. And until normal intestinal bacteria begin to make vitamin K. It’s because:
- At birth, babies have little vitamin K stored in their bodies. And only a small amount of vitamin K passes through the placenta of their mothers.
- Good bacteria that contain vitamin K are not present in the intestines of the newborn.
- Breast milk contains insufficient amounts of vitamin K. So breastfed children do not get enough vitamin K from breast milk alone.
If all infants are born with low levels of vitamin K, is it a deficiency, or is it a natural design of human beings?
Why are children born with insufficient vitamin K? It is difficult for us to know why this will happen. There are a million explanations, and there isn’t a lot of research to inform this, so here are a few theories:
- VKDB, though catastrophic when it occurs, is rare. So if you look at this as a case of “survival of the fittest,” there may not be a pressing need for newborns to be born with higher levels of vitamin K.
- Many of their systems are not yet fully developed when babies are born. Their nervous system and immune system are immature. The infant’s clotting function still needs time to mature to achieve its full strength.
- Maybe there’s a reason we don’t know that leads to low transmission of vitamin K from mom to baby before and after birth. There may be an unidentified beneficial mechanism that stops some environmental toxins from reaching the baby. And this mechanism also has the side effect of preventing Vitamin K from reaching the baby in sufficient quantities via placenta and breastmilk.
You may also say that it doesn’t matter why babies are born with low-levels. The point is that they are born with insufficient vitamin K levels. And that certain children will die from vitamin K deficiency bleeding if they do not get enough vitamin K at the beginning of their lives. Most of them won’t bleed. But few of them will, and several can suffer brain damage or death. The vast majority of such accidents and deaths are preventable.
Why Do Newborns Need a Vitamin K Shot?
Health experts suggest that all newborns get a dose of vitamin K at birth. Babies are not born with enough of this essential vitamin that is usually needed to clot blood.
Babies who do not get vitamin K at birth are at risk for a potentially fatal bleeding condition called vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB). VKDB can cause bruising or bleeding in almost every organ in the body. Almost half of the cases of VKDB cause brain bleeding and brain damage.
Babies are at risk for VKDB for the first 6 months of their life. That’s because most of the vitamin K that the body makes comes from the food we eat and the healthy bacteria in our intestines. Before they start eating solid food at around 6 months of age, babies do not have naturally enough produced vitamin K. And moms don’t have enough vitamin K in their breast milk to protect their babies from VKDB.
Why, then, do some parents postpone or refuse the injection of vitamin K to their newborn? Research in the early 1990s suggested a link between vitamin K and childhood cancer. Since then, several studies have shown no link between vitamin K and cancer. And this misinformation is also readily available online. As a result, certain families are refusing or skipping a shot or looking at other children’s options to receive vitamin K.
Some European countries encourage families to choose the oral source of vitamin K. But this is far less effective than a shot to avoid bleeding, especially in the head. Oral vitamin K is not available to newborns in the United States.
No parent loves worrying that their little one is going to get a shot. But a single injection of vitamin K will shield a child from serious, even deadly, a preventable bleeding disorder. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) provides more information on the injection of vitamin K and VKDB.
How is vitamin K offered to you?
The simplest and most effective way to give vitamin K to babies is by injection. One injection right after birth will shield the infant for a period of months. Since around 1980, most newborn babies in Australia have received doses of vitamin K. Vitamin K can also be offered by mouth. Several oral doses are necessary to provide adequate protection since vitamin K is not absorbed when administered by mouth, and the effect does not last as long.
If you want vitamin K by mouth, your child must have three doses:
- 1st dose at birth
- 2nd dose usually 3 to 5 days later
- 3rd dose in the 4th week, if the baby is fully breastfed.
If the baby vomits after an hour of consuming vitamin K, another dose would need to be given to the baby.
Does vitamin K have any side effects?
Vitamin K has been given to new babies for the last 30 years. No complications appeared because of it. One research indicated a few years ago that vitamin K injections might be related to childhood cancer. But six other research did not find any link to cancer. These findings and other available data have been thoroughly reviewed by the National Health and Medical Research Council. They concluded that vitamin K is not linked with childhood cancer, whether given by injection or by mouth.
