Vitamin K injection

I am undecided on my baby having this....keen to get peoples thoughts on why they did or didn't or will be or wont be giving to their babies

Thanks

i have come to the same conclusion as emmecat. the injection may have side effects (not conclusively proven yet, but still a risk nonetheless) whereas the oral seems to be ok. i have been looking into it through scientific studies and stuff (geek!) and it is one of those things that they cant prove if its necissary to be given to your baby but i figure if thats the case and there is no contraindications on the oral dose, then i might as well.

We decided to not give the Vit K to our babies. After DD1 was born by emergency c/s and things were not so perfect, we reconsidered and she had oral doses. Who knows how much actually went down but she turned out ok! Since then we have declined "unless strongly recommended".

hehe, can i just say - the stuff given orally and injected is......wait for it...... the same stuff, literally, from the same vial just given a different way... hence i find it interesting that the injection is "linked to childhood cancers" and the oral is not.

The main difference is that with the injection, it's given in one dose as it's into a large muscle so is taken up by the body more readily, working quicker.

the oral doses, as they are given orally, have a less effective uptake as they have to get thru the stomach etc/digestive tract.. hence the 3 doses to get the same effect, over a longer period of time.

From what i have read, it is the first week or so where this is the most important, as those that do happen to be affected by haemhorragic (sp)disease of the newborn, have a higher chance of recovering if it sets in after 7 - 10 days. so having it orally may not mean that all of the doses are given in the right time period if it were to be needed the most.

With this in mind - we went for the injection straight away with both of our girls.

but as the others have said it's up to your choice. I do think though like Teresa said in the "unless highly recommended" part... that usually it will be highly recommended if baby has a lot of bruising like in ventouse or forceps delivery or something like that, if it's been a very long long labour and again baby has a mushy/bruised head, or if very early/prem where there can be the chance of bleeds, or there is a history of blood disorders in the family.

keep reading and i hope you find what you're looking for to help you make the decision that's right for you and your baby.



Edited by mum2paris

ok well i work in pallative care (people that are dying) and most of our clients are those with cancer i handle the children............chances of baby getting cancer with the injection are rare and like someone said unproven however if you decide not to your child may still get cancer ............after reserching it for my first i decided the clotting etc weighed it out so i gave it to him........... and yes it is the same thing both oral and injection.............i also looked into menz B at the same time and too me there are way more bad side affects to this then the K injection.....and remember that it is vitiamin and you put more bad things into your body that you eat...think of all the chemicals from sprays your downing and the ready made foods your gonna feed bubs!!!!!!!!! this is what i looked at to make my decision.....best of luck ..in you decision

skp wrote: No way, my DH is a Dr and we see all the latest research in the clinic about Vit K and ultra sounds. There is no sensible reason that a healthy baby who had a normal birth needs vit K. Anyway thats our views and every parent is entitled to their own, however just make sure you do some research. The little flyer that they give you is not enough!

So do you know what the risks are of NOT having the injection?

I guess you need to weigh these against the risks of having it and see where you;re at. I am going to do some more reading.

Hereis an article that cites some more articles about this issue.

It seems to suggest that the oral doses may be safer, but also suggests that healthy breastfed babies shouldn't need any Vit K- I guess the problem is there may not be any way of knowing how healthy they are until its too late perhaps?

I don't know what we will do. Going to get some more opinions.

Daniel had it because of blood disorders that are on the IL's side of the family. MIL and BIL both have bleeding disorders and DH takes forever to clot so we decided to give it.. this one will have it too

mum2paris wrote: if the oral and the injection aren't from the same vial then darn it, the instructions on the inside of the packaging of the vitamin k that we are giving to babies all the time at work... must be wrong.

Well, at the risk of sounding a bit hormonal (cos I am lol), it sounds like you know the ultimate truth and more than the rest of us so good for you.....but might I be first to say that it's entirely feasible that there are things in the injection that are not in the oral dose, pharmecuetical companies are hardly up there with the most trustworthy of people IMO.  That aside,  if they ARE the EXACT SAME THING as you claim, then why is there persistent literature about the Vitamin K shot still having a link to childhood cancers? I'm not asking this hypothetically....I really want to know! Is it because they are absorbed faster and more completely than the oral dose? You obviously know something we don't, so please enlighten us... ..... might make a few of us change our minds!

So - I found this info on the medsafe website, apparently it is the same medicine given in two different ways.


New formulation of vitamin K
Konakion®, the only form of vitamin K available in New Zealand for many years, has not been licensed for oral use (although practitioners may still prescribe it by that route). It contains phytomenadione (vitamin K1) as the active ingredient but also polyethoxylated castor oil, propylene glycol and phenol, which some practitioners consider are mucosal irritants for the infant. The new Konakion MM® is designed specifically for oral as well as intramuscular use, and contains phytomenadione and the naturally occurring products, glycocholic acid and lecithin. The advent of this form of vitamin K should allay any concerns about oral administration related to the phenol content of the former preparation.


I think I will decide after the birth - depending on how it goes and how quickly i can breastfeed etc