Vitamin K in the Newborn Period

Congratulations on your pregnancy! What an exciting time in life to think that you will be bring in an infant into the world.

Family and friends are excited for you, and you are doing your best to take care of yourself and baby as you wait with great anticipation.

When it’s time to deliver your baby, you’ll likely experience a mix of emotions and activity — completing hospital paperwork, being cared for by your doctor and nurses, and preparing for the delivery itself. Once the baby is born, nurses will make sure the baby is in stable condition as he or she makes that transition from being inside the womb to breathing room air and adjusting their body to room temperature. As part of their first care, your baby will get a Vitamin K shot in the thigh, which supports their health and development.

What does Vitamin K do?

It’s one of the essential vitamins we need to help us our blood clot so we don’t have spontaneous bleeding that becomes difficult to stop. Our gut flora helps make vitamin K in our intestines, so we don’t continually need to take the supplement. However, when a baby is born, they don’t have enough bacteria in their gut, and they need the injection to “jump start” the production of those clotting factors. Infants are at risk for spontaneous bleeding, especially inside the head, if they don’t get their Vitamin K at birth.

In this article from the American Academy of Pediatrics, you can get a more in-depth understanding on the importance of Vitamin K in the newborn

period.

References

Why Your Newborn Needs a Vitamin K Shot - HealthyChildren.org