In the UK, within the first 24 hours of giving birth, you will be offered an injection of synthetic Vitamin K for your baby.
This is a vitamin injection, not a vaccine.
‘This helps prevent a rare bleeding disorder called haemorrhagic disease of the newborn. [Also known as Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding (VKDB)]
If you'd prefer for your baby not to have an injection, they can have Vitamin K by mouth instead, but they'll need further doses.’
So you have three options: you can give Vitamin K by injection, by mouth, or not at all.
One of Informing Consent’s medical advisers, a retired pharmacologist, says:
‘While efficacy in reducing VKDB incidence is well documented, the necessity, formulation, and physiological implications of this intervention warrant closer scrutiny.’
It is worth researching and discussing Vitamin K intervention ahead of your baby’s birth, so you are happy and confident about the choice you make.
The information on this page is a detailed introduction to Vitamin K, but it is not intended to be an exhaustive discussion. We encourage you to do your own further reading and talk to medical professionals.
Different NHS hospitals and trusts produce their own leaflets about Vitamin K. These can be found online, and here are some examples:
A closer look at Vitamin K
What are Vitamin K and VKDB?
Are there any potential side-effects?
What are Vitamin K and VKDB?
What’s in the supplement?
Are there any potential side-effects?
What are Vitamin K and VKDB?
Are there any potential side-effects?
Are there any potential side-effects?
Injection or by mouth – what's the difference?
Injection or by mouth – what's the difference?
Should we be concerned about low Vitamin K in newborns?
Injection or by mouth – what's the difference?
Should we be concerned about low Vitamin K in newborns?
Should we be concerned about low Vitamin K in newborns?
Should we be concerned about low Vitamin K in newborns?
Talk to your doctor and midwife
Should we be concerned about low Vitamin K in newborns?
Should we be concerned about low Vitamin K in newborns?
Your child: your choice
There is a lot to consider, and it may take some time for you to research this topic and decide how to proceed.
Ultimately, however, it is your decision. Your child: your choice.
Retired clinical pharmacologist David Critchley offers the following summary:
‘Neonatal Vitamin K prophylaxis may demonstrate efficacy but may have negative consequences.
Its benefits are concentrated in preventing a rare condition, while its risks—though uncommon—are real and in some cases linked to excipients rather than the vitamin itself.
Whether the physiological low Vitamin K status of healthy newborns should be routinely corrected in every infant, rather than being viewed as part of normal developmental physiology, remains a legitimate scientific and ethical question.’
Further exploration
Dr Suzanne Humphries discusses Vitamin K for newborns in detail in this video from Children’s Health Defense (from around 11:05). (Note: our understanding is that the ingredients are different in the US from the UK.)
The HighWire’s Del Bigtree and Jefferey Jaxen discuss Vitamin K – injection versus oral administration. They refer to the Cochrane Review, ‘Prophylactic Vitamin K for Vitamin K deficiency bleeding in neonates’, which found that both injection and oral administration are effective at preventing VKDB. (Note that aluminium is mentioned in this video, but is not listed as an ingredient in the UK Vitamin K injection.)