Vitamin K

[itiswhatitis1984]

After reading about the vitamin K injections I have decided to give our baby a slow oral supplement of it instead of the injection. My question is where can I get it? I've searched but haven't had luck. Thanks in advance!

[JennTheMomma]

Are you not birthing with a Midwife or OB? They will be able to obtain the oral Vit. K. Otherwise you may be able to get it as a perscription or from a medical supply company.

[Green Decals]

Call around to your local homebirth midwives or naturopathic doctors. You want the green stuff, not the synthetic.

[itiswhatitis1984]

I have a midwife, I just forgot to ask when I saw her. I'll bring it up at my next visit. Thanks!

[amb2j]

Don't want this to turn debate(ish) but I'm genuinely curious about what your research found about vitamin k injections. I'm in the process of researching it myself as well as the eye ointment and would love to hear any info on the subject.

Sent from my iPhone using DS Forum

[itiswhatitis1984]

Originally Posted by amb2j Don't want this to turn debate(ish) but I'm genuinely curious about what your research found about vitamin k injections. I'm in the process of researching it myself as well as the eye ointment and would love to hear any info on the subject. Sent from my iPhone using DS Forum

The studies are controversial that the large dose given at one shot increases the risk of childhood leukemia. To off set that you can give a smaller dose once a week over 5 weeks and they still get the same amount, just slower. Personally I feel more comfortable doing it slow and steady.

As far as the eye drops they are to protect the baby if you have the std chlamydia. If you have it and birth vaginally the bacteria can get in their eyes and cause blindness. I'm also opting out if that because I know I'm negative and don't see the point of giving unnecessary antibiotics.

Both are my personal (well my husbands and mine) opinion and what we feel is best for our family but I encourage everyone to do what is right for theirs

[amb2j]

Thanks for the info! :-)

[itiswhatitis1984]

Originally Posted by amb2j Thanks for the info! :-)

Your welcome!

[Green Decals]

Originally Posted by itiswhatitis1984 The studies are controversial that the large dose given at one shot increases the risk of childhood leukemia. To off set that you can give a smaller dose once a week over 5 weeks and they still get the same amount, just slower. Personally I feel more comfortable doing it slow and steady. As far as the eye drops they are to protect the baby if you have the std chlamydia. If you have it and birth vaginally the bacteria can get in their eyes and cause blindness. I'm also opting out if that because I know I'm negative and don't see the point of giving unnecessary antibiotics. Both are my personal (well my husbands and mine) opinion and what we feel is best for our family but I encourage everyone to do what is right for theirs

:Yeahthat: We did the oral for both kids, and skipped the eye antibiotic goop too - its amazing but the hospitals even put it in the eyes of scheduled c-section babies, simply so they can bill for it! I will tell you that we didn't complete the oral vitamin K series, only the first 2 doses (birth and 1 week) because it was pretty clear at a week that they didn't have any bleeding disorders. I would have finished the series if there was any doubt or we had any concerns.

[Green Decals]

I also wanted to add that I have done some pretty extensive reading on the idea of mom boosting her vitamin k so baby gets it through milk. While this may seem ideal, and may work for some women/babies, there just isn't enough data or even scientific theory to put my mind at ease should I have a baby with a bleeding disorder. I am not one who requires hard proof for convincing, but in the risk/benefit equation, I chose the oral dose for my babies. The only "risk" I could find in giving the oral dose is that I wanted to make sure they got a good shot of colostrum first, so we didn't do the vitamin K until about 24 hours after birth, when breastfeeding was established and their guts had been colonized. If my children had been subjected to traumatic birth, I may have done it sooner than the 24 hours but certainly not before nursing them.