First, it is a lie that it is needed. Listen to this fear campaign delivered by the CDC:
"Babies are born with very little vitamin K stored in their bodies. This is called “vitamin K deficiency” and means that a baby has low levels of vitamin K. Without enough vitamin K, babies cannot make the substances used to form clots, called ‘clotting factors.’ When bleeding happens because of low levels of vitamin K, this is called “vitamin K deficiency bleeding” or VKDB. VKDB is a serious and potentially life-threatening cause of bleeding in infants up to 6 months of age. A vitamin K shot given at birth is the best way to prevent low levels of vitamin K and vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB)....waiting to see if your baby needs a vitamin K shot may be too late. Babies can bleed into their intestines or brain where parents can’t see the bleeding to know that something is wrong. This can delay medical care and lead to serious and life-threatening consequences. All babies are born with very low levels of vitamin K because it doesn’t cross the placenta well. Breast milk contains only small amounts of vitamin K. That means that ALL newborns have low levels of vitamin K, so they need vitamin K from another source. A vitamin K shot is the best way to make sure all babies have enough vitamin K. Newborns who do not get a vitamin K shot are 81 times more likely to develop severe bleeding than those who get the shot."
How has humanity survived all this time without this shot? Vitamin K does pass through the placenta, it does get passed through breast milk, and moms eating plenty leafy greens, veggies, fruits, and oils are passing plenty to their babies. Interesting however that certain medications can interfere with vitamin K and deplete it or cause other clotting and bleeding issues. If mom is on IV antibiotics (often the case if she is Group B strep positive during the birth), certain pain medication, or had recent vaccines it could deplete her vitamin K levels or pass through to the baby and deplete the baby's vitamin K levels. Want to know another thing that could cause bleeding disorders in babies unrelated to the "need" for vitamin K? The Hepatitis B vaccine, also scheduled to be given within 12 hours of birth. Actually, most vaccines have the same adverse reaction listed in the package inserts, also called thrombocytopenia, or ITP. So maybe if we stopped vaccinating babies they wouldn't be bleeding to death.
Beyond the lie that it is necessary is the lie that it is just a safe and harmless vitamin. Here it is, the bold-faced lie in print:
"Yes, the vitamin K shot is safe. Vitamin K is the main ingredient in the shot. The other ingredients make the vitamin K safe to give as a shot."
The manufacturer disagrees, this is in the insert:
"Severe reactions, including fatalities, have also been reported following INTRAMUSCULAR administration."
"ADVERSE REACTIONS
Deaths have occurred after intravenous and intramuscular administration. (See Box Warning.) Transient “flushing sensations” and “peculiar” sensations of taste have been observed, as well as rare instances of dizziness, rapid and weak pulse, profuse sweating, brief hypotension, dyspnea, and cyanosis. Pain, swelling, and tenderness at the injection site may occur. The possibility of allergic sensitivity including an anaphylactoid reaction, should be kept in mind. Infrequently, usually after repeated injection, erythematous, indurated, pruritic plaques have occurred; rarely, these have progressed to scleroderma-like lesions that have persisted for long periods. In other cases, these lesions have resembled erythema perstans. Hyperbilirubinemia has been observed in the newborn following administration of phytonadione".
"Studies to evaluate the mutagenic potential have not been conducted with Vitamin K1 Injection.
Studies to evaluate the carcinogenic potential have not been conducted with Vitamin K1 Injection."
And direct from the package insert we have the ingredients:
Each milliliter contains phytonadione 2 or 10 mg, polyoxyethylated fatty acid derivative 70 mg, dextrose, hydrous 37.5 mg in water for injection; benzyl alcohol 9 mg added as preservative. May contain hydrochloric acid for pH adjustment. pH is 6.3 (5.0 to 7.0).
The shot contains aluminum. Aluminum is toxic when injected. Medscape references 35 published studies discussing the toxic impact of injected aluminum and those include many skin conditions including eczema, rash, painful nodules lasting years in some cases, and dermatitis, among other conditions. At least 2 British journals confirmed that vitamin K injections significantly increase chances of childhood leukemia, in as many as 1/500. That is horrific. And it is infuriating that the statements pasted directly from the CDC above, ignore, deny, and flat out lie about the risks of this shot.
What parents deserve is full disclosure and informed consent. That would not sound like the typical jargon they hear in the hospital such as "Now we are going to give your baby a Vitamin K shot, it is perfectly safe and may save your baby's life."
It would sound more like:
"You have the option of having your baby injected with an acidic formulation of synthetic Vitamin K. We would like to give this to your baby because the Hepatitis B shot we will pressure you to get next to protect against STD's might cause a severe bleeding disorder. In addition, the several shots per visit over the next 6 months will increase your baby's risk of bleeding to death. If you would like us to give it, we also need to let you know that it is possible for your baby to suffer a severe reaction, including death or could cause severe skin conditions, such as eczema, and may increase your baby's risk of developing leukemia through childhood. Would you like us to inject your baby?"