# Did you baby have the Vitamin K Jab?



## BabyBennett

Another lady started a thread in 3rd tri asking about the vitamin K jab. I stated that I wouldn't be giving consent for it and the reasons I had and felt like I was bombarded with people saying they have no idea how anyone could not give their baby it. I have researched it but would like to know if there's anyone else who chose for their baby not to have it?

Thanks!


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## NaturalMomma

We had ds2 at home and opted out of the Vitamin K. My Midwife does bring it with her just in case, but unless there was trauma, baby was bleeding, cuts, bruises on baby or we were circumcising then I feel like it's not needed.


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## Tacey

As NaturalMomma said, we'd only give it if the birth was traumatic. I intended not to give any vitamin K, but felt bullied into giving Alice it orally. I'm hoping to stick to my guns this time!


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## Blah11

we werent going to but ended up giving him it as he came out very quickly and had a bit of bruising on his forehead and nose (which the MW thought would be worse than it turned out to be)


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## mommyof3co

We were going to opt out of it, I had planned to deliver at a birth center, but then at the hospital he came out blue and we told them to do it. I'm really glad we did because he did require a lot of poking and proding and that type of thing over the next days in the NICU.


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## cissyhope

we gave orally x


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## Celesse

I opted to have it. Then DS got poorly and his clotting was effected and they gave him a second dose. I don't think it would have made any difference if I'd opted in or out as when he needed it, they gave it to him.


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## discoclare

we chose to have it


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## JessPape

Good question, I will need to do some research on this as I know nothing about it :)


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## NDH

We chose not to have it. Would have asked for it orally had she had bruising or had a traumatic/instrumental delivery. We felt the injection is too high a dose of something that there must be a reason for babies not being born with it.


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## OnErth&InHvn

DS did, DD1 did, but DD2 did not. She has never had any vaccines.


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## minties

Thomas had it, but I don't recall agreeing to it. I only know he had it as I have detailed birth notes.


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## teal

My son had it because it was a traumatic delivery xx


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## BabyBennett

NDH said:


> We chose not to have it. Would have asked for it orally had she had bruising or had a traumatic/instrumental delivery. We felt the injection is too high a dose of something that there must be a reason for babies not being born with it.


That's what I think. If I go through a difficult birth or C-Section then I'd agree orally but if that's how all babies are born then surely there's a reason?


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## cissyhope

minties said:


> Thomas had it, but I don't recall agreeing to it. I only know he had it as I have detailed birth notes.

 Wow i didnt think they would be allowed to do it without your consent?! :growlmad: x


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## lozzy21

I was planning in giving it orally but she had a traumatic birth and was badly bruised so she had the injection.


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## iow_bird

Can I ask why you would choose not to have it? Are there specific risks/side effects that concern you or do you prefer not to give your children any meds/vaccines. 

(This is a polite enquiry, not a critisism) :)


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## OnErth&InHvn

iow_bird said:


> Can I ask why you would choose not to have it? Are there specific risks/side effects that concern you or do you prefer not to give your children any meds/vaccines.
> 
> (This is a polite enquiry, not a critisism) :)

we researched vaccines, even Vit K one and chose to not vaccine at all based on the research we found. with DD2 we took a very relaxed approach, she didnt even get the eye goop after she was born.


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## Rachel_C

I researched it while pregnant and wanted to give it but in a veggie form. After emailing/calling suppliers and the hospital's paediatric pharmacist several times I gave up (my hormonal heavily pregnant state wasn't very patient!) and we just got the normal jab. As far as I know, the only veggie version available in the UK is classed as a supplement rather than a medicine but it is still only available if prescribed. Complicated!


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## BabyBennett

iow_bird said:


> Can I ask why you would choose not to have it? Are there specific risks/side effects that concern you or do you prefer not to give your children any meds/vaccines.
> 
> (This is a polite enquiry, not a critisism) :)


Sure, there's been a lot of research done recently regarding the jab. I've always felt that if all babies are born with that level of Vitamin K then surely there's a reason for this? The reseach seems to go with that impression and what harm does it do to the baby giving such a high dose of something so early on in life. Nothing has been proven yet but they are finding links between the jab and childhood cancers. A lot of Countries only give the jab to babies that have had a traumatic birth (inc C-Section) and I think that seems far more realistic. It also doesn't prevent all cases of bleeding so if it's not guaranteed then I don't want to risk it.

I completely understand why a lot of babies are given it and in the UK it is still seen as the norm. I personally would prefer not to.


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## Thumper

We didn't. I would've agreed to an oral dose if there was a reason for LO needing it but def no to a jab. The MW agreed that it wasn't necessary. I think it's crazy we're pushed to believe we're harming our children by not having vit K.


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## 17thy

We gave orally only because the birth was kind of traumatic for her and she had bruising on her head.


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## vaniilla

Lo had it, birth was pretty traumatic and he had lots of bruising on his head from the two times it took with a ventouse to get him out.


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## iow_bird

Thanks for the info ladies :) we gave the vitamin K, but had a section and LO was very bruised form getting stuck in my pelvis. I'd probably give it again for next bub, but it's always good to know more :)


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## summer rain

We had it for all of ours, I researched it and spoke with the midwives when I had my second eldest as I knew they were very anti-unneeded treatments or jabs but they saw no issue with the vit K injection and said there was one study quite a few years ago that showed an increase in childhood leukaemia in those who had the injection but that study had not been backed up by other studies since, if anything more recent studies have found no difference xx


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## rwhite

I opted for Lachlan to have his orally in three doses, as I found that the vitamin K given in injection form was going to be overkill and didn't want for my newborn to have to have an injection, eeek. He didn't have a traumatic birth at all, far from it, but I wanted to be safe.

We'll do the oral form again with subsequent babies.


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## DMG83

I requested orally but we had a very traumatic birth in the end with LO getting stuck for 3hrs whilst I desperately pushed, then she got manually turned before being assisted with ventuose. The paediatrician came and spoke to us after and said that she had extensive bruising to her head and was at high risk due to the length of time she'd been stuck so we agreed to the injection. Next time we will request oral again if it is non-traumatic but in our case we felt the benefit outweighed any risk


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## BabyBennett

DMG83 said:


> I requested orally but we had a very traumatic birth in the end with LO getting stuck for 3hrs whilst I desperately pushed, then she got manually turned before being assisted with ventuose. The paediatrician came and spoke to us after and said that she had extensive bruising to her head and was at high risk due to the length of time she'd been stuck so we agreed to the injection. Next time we will request oral again if it is non-traumatic but in our case we felt the benefit outweighed any risk

After a birth like that I'd agree to the jab as well! Really hope your LO is doing okay now!


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## nickyXjayno

I had planned total natural with my sons birth but my contractions were a bit to efficient & put him in distress (both had tachocardia & my blood pressure went through roof). 
so I agreed to the k shot & injection to help placenta out as he had to go straight to intensive care, no skin to skin. 
only reason he survived was because I had no drugs in labour so he could be worked on asap & not be drowsy. 
so don't have drugs in labour lol.


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## happilyhappy

If you want more info on the vitamin k jab you can get a booklet from AIMS (Association for Improvements in Maternity Services) which gives a the facts on it in an impartial way. My midwife gave us a copy but you can get ones direct from them - https://www.aims.org.uk/pubs3.htm#VitaminK

We found it very helpful and ultimately decided not to give it but I was gllad to have access to all the info in order to make a decision.


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## hot tea

We opted out for vit K.


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## lepaskilf

Celesse said:


> I opted to have it. Then DS got poorly and his clotting was effected and they gave him a second dose. I don't think it would have made any difference if I'd opted in or out as when he needed it, they gave it to him.

That's interesting! Why do they give it in the first place if they're just going to give it again if they do become poorly?

My LO had it, I'm glad he did as he was 4 weeks early and needed a drip and pin pricks, so it helped x


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## mamawannabee

I really wanted to skip it, but when it came down to it I changed my mind and let them give it to her. After weighing the pros and cons I found that there weren't many negatives to it and decided it was safer to just give it. However we are opting not to do many of the other vaccines.

ETA: She didn't even cry when they gave it to her, and I did it at the mw's suggestion. She is super into everything as natural as possible and I trusted her opinion. I wanted them only to give it if the birth was traumatic, but I knew the mw knew best.


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## membas#1

we opted out


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## JASMAK

all my kids had the jab as i had three c-sections and all were with various complications. i don't remember them asking though...but things went very quick too, so i suppose they could have, and i don't remember.


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## Eala

Roo had the injection due to a difficult labour and a ventouse delivery.

Midgelet will have it as I'm having a c-section.

To each their own, really :) For me the benefits outweigh the risks, but that's the thing with risk assessment, it's subjective. Different for everyone, and there is no "right" answer :)


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## Maman

i had section so we opted in.


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## katerdid

William had it. He came 4 weeks early and we circumcised him, so felt it would be very beneficial. Plus he had severe jaundice so he had to have blood drawn at least twice a day for 5 days straight, poor guy.


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## Weezie123

I wasn't going to give it until an older midwife said to me that the only worry would be in a case where by the time they realised the baby needed it it may be too late to help. So although birth was gentle I still let him have it. Still don't know if it was right but what she said did resonate with me.


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## Eenie

Hi ... Newbie momma here and have been worrying myself sick about vit k jab I allowed for my dd! As a new mum to my now 13 wk old, the first decision I was faced with, whilst in labour, was the jab decision which I feel gutted about that I made an un-informed decision about, to end up saying yes. Nobody told me b4 hand about what the heck it was and as I am reluctantly about to make appt for her immunisations read the report about it being linked to childhood cancer. I feel cheated as I had a natural birth which went smoothly, so far also managing to bf exclusively ( omg how tempted have I been to top up with formula or try baby rice when I think I have not got enough milk sometimes!?!)
I guess I feel like babies would have vit k and so would our milk if it was needed. So I'm worried. My dd also has wind and the supposedly associated jaundice with the jab. Boo. I feel I have let her down :nope:


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## BabyBennett

Eenie said:


> Hi ... Newbie momma here and have been worrying myself sick about vit k jab I allowed for my dd! As a new mum to my now 13 wk old, the first decision I was faced with, whilst in labour, was the jab decision which I feel gutted about that I made an un-informed decision about, to end up saying yes. Nobody told me b4 hand about what the heck it was and as I am reluctantly about to make appt for her immunisations read the report about it being linked to childhood cancer. I feel cheated as I had a natural birth which went smoothly, so far also managing to bf exclusively ( omg how tempted have I been to top up with formula or try baby rice when I think I have not got enough milk sometimes!?!)
> I guess I feel like babies would have vit k and so would our milk if it was needed. So I'm worried. My dd also has wind and the supposedly associated jaundice with the jab. Boo. I feel I have let her down :nope:


You haven't let her down at all especially as you weren't provided with any information about the jab! In that situation I think we would all have done the same. 

The only reason I questioned it at all is that I used to live abroad and my closest friend from there pointed out that only babies born via C-Section have the jab there. Surely if it really was needed by every baby then it would happen in every developed country? I started researching it more and just couldn't see a justified reason if you have a natural birth. Did Nature really make such a huge mistake that every baby is born with a lack of Vitamin K? Can it really be good for a baby to get such a huge dose of it that early in their lives? 

I'm still not 100% decided & it's horrible!


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## Eenie

Thanks for the reply! I have been reading more about
It and settled my mind that after 3 months it has dispersed ... I still wish I had said no&#128524;. I agree with u in that nature is amazing and there must b a reason for low levels. Thankfully my lo is fine and will hopefully always be so. Spoke to my hv yesterday who said she doesn't know 1 woman who has refused it yet but will go away and research it having had the conversation. Now it's the difficult decision of when to get - and if - to get her vaccinated. Having researched about vit k I found loads of worrying info on blinking vaccines and the fact we all need boosters so why have germs injected into your perfect baby, which have been cultured on mice, use pigs blood and god knows what else! What a nightmare...my Hv said that vaccines have been modified in labs .. So as not to give full blown illness - aghhhhh!!!! I may wait until 6 months with her so she is past the Sid risks which apparently some kids can be more exposed to - esp boys - ... Stressed out!!!!! &#128513;&#128563;&#128563;&#128563;


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## Kess

Ro had the jab, even though he had a peaceful birth (no bruising, just a groove around his head from where I had trouble pushing his big head out lol). The link with childhood cancer is tenuous at most, and even assuming the study is accurate, the risk of a child reveloping cancer from having the jab is lower than the risk of a child dying from haemorraghic disease from not having the jab, so for us it was simply a matter of numbers. I'd do the same with any future kids unless something new comes up to change my mind.


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