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Vitamin K and newborn babies

VitaminKisneededbyhumansforbloodclotting.Olderchildrenandadultsgetmostoftheir vitaminKfrombacteriainthegut,andsomefromtheirdiet.WithoutenoughvitaminK,smallcuts cangoonbleedingforaverylongtimeandbigbruisescanhappenfromsmallinjuries.Bleeding canalsooccurinotherpartsofthebody,suchasthebrain(causingonetypeofstroke). BabieshaveverylittlevitaminKintheirbodiesatbirth.VitaminKdoesnotcrosstheplacentato thedevelopingbaby,andthegutdoesnothaveanybacteriatomakevitaminKbeforebirth.After birth,thereislittlevitaminKinbreastmilkandbreastfedbabiescanbelowinvitaminKfor severalweeksuntilthenormalgutbacteriastartmakingit.InfantformulahasaddedvitaminK, butevenformula-fedbabieshaveverylowlevelsofvitaminKforseveraldays. WithlowlevelsofvitaminK,somebabiescanhaveveryseverebleeding-sometimesintothe brain,causingsignificantbraindamage.Thisbleedingiscalledhaemorrhagicdiseaseofthe newborn(HDN). Informed consent Formorethan20years,allnewbornbabieshavebeengivenvitaminKatbirth,byinjection.This hasbeenfoundtobeverysafe,andHDNwasnotseeninAustralianbabies.However,althoughthe programwasinplacetogivetheinjections,mostparentsdidnotgetanyinformationaboutthe injectionandwhyitwasgiven.Whensomeconcernaboutitssafetywaspublishedinan internationaljournal,therewasaconsiderableoutcry-notsomuchaboutitssafety(itwasquickly showntobebothextremelysafeandextremelyeffective),butaboutthefactthatparentswerenot giveninformationabouttheneedfortheinjection,orgiventheopportunitytomakeaninformed decisionaboutaninjectiongiventotheirbaby. Injections or drops Forashorttime,whenconcernswerefirstraisedaboutthesafetyofvitaminKinjections,parents weregiveninformationtomakeaninformeddecisionandtheywereofferedtheopportunityto havetheirbabiesgivenvitaminKbydrops,ratherthaninjection.Twodosesofdropswereneeded forallbabies(oneatbirthandone3to5dayslater),andanotherinthefourthweek,ifthebaby wasbreastfed. DuringthetimethatmanybabiesweregettingvitaminKbydrops,severalbabiesinAustraliahad severeepisodesofbleeding,whichwereprobablyduetoHDN.Itseemedveryclearthatgetting vitaminKbyoneinjectionisfarsaferandmoreeffectivethanbythreesetsofdrops. Its your choice ParentsdonothavetoallowtheirbabytohaveavitaminKinjection,butitisverystrongly recommendedthattheydogivepermissionforit.VitaminKinjectionshavebeenroutinelygivenin Australiaforover20years,withnoilleffectsatthetimeoftheinjection,orlater.Somebabies haveaslightsorenessforadayorsoattheinjectionsite.VitaminKinjectionsremainthebest preventivemeasureforreducingtheriskofhaemorrhagicdiseaseofthenewborn. Child Health Record WhenababyisgivenvitaminKbyinjectionororaldose,thisneedstoberecordedinthechilds HealthRecord.TheVictorianChildHealthRecordisgivenfreeofchargetoparentsafterthebirth oftheirbaby. Where to get help Yourdoctor Maternityhospital MaternalandChildHealthnurse.

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VitaminKandnewbornbabies

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VitaminKisneededforbloodclotting. NewbornbabiesaregivenvitaminKinjectionstopreventaseriousdiseasecalled haemorrhagicdiseaseofthenewborn(HDN). VitaminKcanbegivenbymouthifpreferred,butoraldosesarentaseffective.

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Copyight 1999/2009StateofVictoria.ReproducedfromtheBetterHealthChannel(www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)at nocostwithpermissionoftheVictorianMinisterforHealth.Unauthorisedreproductionandotherusescomprisedinthe copyrightareprohibitedwithoutpermission. ThisBetterHealthChannelfactsheethaspassedthrougharigorousapprovalprocess.Forthelatestupdatesandmore informationvisitwww.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.

VitaminKandnewbornbabies

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