Many Missouri parents are familiar with routine newborn vaccines, but some may not know about the Vitamin K shot given shortly after birth.
Boone Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lana Zerrer says the injection plays an important role in protecting newborns from a potentially serious health risk.
“We really get our vitamin K from our gut bacteria, and newborns' guts are sterile. So, when they're born, they don't have any vitamin K," Zerrer says. "So, these infants are at high risk of bleeding because vitamin K is critical. We need it so that our blood can clot.”
Zerrer says misinformation is fueling concerns and misconceptions about the Vitamin K shot.
“Generally, it's vague things like, first of all, people don't want anything that's quote unquote unnatural. And they consider vaccines to be unnatural, this subset of people," Zerrer explains. "And then also the vitamin K gets lumped in there because it's a shot.”
Zerrer says babies who don't receive the injection face a significantly higher risk of dangerous bleeding.
“So when infants get the late onset bleeding, they have a 30 to 60% chance of intracranial hemorrhage," Zerrer says. "This can lead to death in quite a few infants. 14 to 20% of those die.”
Dr. Zerrer says misinformation online has caused some parents to refuse the Vitamin K shot for their newborns.
Missourinet