Medical professionals across the United States are raising alarms over a growing trend where more parents are declining the vitamin K injection routinely given to newborns, a decision doctors say places infants at significantly higher risk of dangerous bleeding.
For more than six decades, U.S. health authorities have recommended a single vitamin K shot shortly after birth to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition. The practice has been widely credited with dramatically reducing cases of severe bleeding in infants. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, babies who do not receive the injection are more than 80 times more likely to experience serious bleeding complications.
Despite that track record, recent data suggest refusals are increasing.
A study published in JAMA found that the proportion of newborns who did not receive a vitamin K injection nearly doubled over a seven-year period. Researchers analyzed more than five million health records from 2017 to 2024 and found that in 2024, approximately 5.2% of newborns missed the shot, up from about 3% in 2017. Based on birth estimates, that translates to roughly 190,000 babies nationwide who did not receive the injection last year.
Doctors say the increase is troubling.
Vitamin K plays a critical role in the body’s ability to form blood clots, yet babies enter the world with only minimal amounts of it. Medical experts say the most reliable way to protect newborns from dangerous bleeding is a single injection administered shortly after birth.
Vitamin K deficiency bleeding can occur anywhere in the body, but physicians say bleeding in or around the brain is the most feared complication. Such hemorrhages can be fatal or cause permanent neurological damage.
Doctors note that newborns do not receive sufficient vitamin K through breast milk or formula, making the early injection critical. The protection it provides typically lasts until infants begin eating solid foods that naturally contain higher levels of the vitamin, usually around six months of age.
Health care providers say the rise in refusals appears to be driven by a mix of misinformation and distrust. Some parents worry about preservatives in the injection, while others mistakenly believe vitamin K is a vaccine.
It is not a vaccine. It is a vitamin supplement, and it has been used safely in newborn care for decades and has an extensive track record of effectiveness.
Multiple studies conducted over decades have found no evidence linking the vitamin K injection to childhood cancer or other long-term harms, according to the CDC.
Clouser explained that vitamin K deficiency bleeding can also present as excessive bleeding from the umbilical cord or after procedures such as circumcision. One recent study found that the vitamin K shot reduced the risk of severe bleeding after circumcision by sixfold.
Some parents have asked about oral vitamin K as an alternative. While oral formulations are used in a few countries, doctors in the U.S. caution that they are less reliable. Oral vitamin K requires multiple doses over several weeks, and absorption can vary widely among infants. Doctors suggest receiving the intramuscular shot as the gold standard to receive the supplement.
Historical examples underscore the risk of abandoning routine vitamin K administration. In the early 1980s, some hospitals in England stopped recommending the injection over concerns—later disproven—about a possible cancer link. During that period, cases of vitamin K deficiency bleeding rose, prompting a return to universal injection recommendations.
Medical professionals say the current rise in refusals could lead to similar outcomes if it continues.
While the increase may appear modest on paper, it represents tens of thousands of newborns nationwide, an increase that doctors say translates into a substantial number of infants facing preventable health risks.
Physicians urge parents to discuss concerns with trusted health care providers rather than relying on online sources.
Health officials say they are monitoring the trend closely, warning that reversing decades of progress against vitamin K deficiency bleeding could have serious consequences for newborn health nationwide.
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