New parents in Alberta are celebrating a tremendous victory. As a result, they are reconsidering the standard practice of administering vitamin K injections to newborns. Traditionally, health care providers have given these injections to infants within hours of birth. This routine practice helps infants raise their blood levels of vitamin K, which is essential for normal blood clotting and preventing life-threatening bleeding. Yet today, parents are more often questioning or downright rejecting this basic standard of preventative care, sending up red flags across the healthcare community.
Carrah Bouma, a pediatrician practicing at the Peter Lougheed Centre and Alberta Children’s Hospital, experiences the challenges on the front lines of patient care. She has recently witnessed an increasing trend of reluctance from parents around vitamin K injections. The province’s vitamin K uptake has risen from 92.76 percent in 2007 to 95.71 percent in 2023. The south zone has felt a dip, with its rate dropping to 94.05 percent.
Dr. Bouma noted that this shift may be the result of distrust in the medical establishment. He stressed the role of misinformation circulating on social media networks in fostering the problem. Many parents do not have specific doubts about the injection, but they feel uneasy and cannot identify why.
The Importance of Vitamin K
Vitamin K is important for blood clotting. Newborns require it to not bleed spontaneously, particularly if you miss the vitamin K injection. According to Dr. Bouma, the great news about vitamin K is that it has an outstanding safety profile. There is no downside apart from just getting an injection.
“Its safety profile is excellent. There are really no downsides to giving vitamin K and really no side effects beyond that of an injection.” – Dr. Carrah Bouma
The injection is given into a large muscle in the thigh. Today, it’s considered routine practice in neonatal care, first adopted in Canada in the 1960s and standardized in the 1980s. Dr. Stephanie Cooper, a pediatrician and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, conveys Dr. Bouma’s concerns. She’s seen a marked uptick in parents opting out of the vitamin K shot for their newborns.
“I have seen a significant increase in the number of people who are saying they don’t want to give vitamin K to their baby,” – Dr. Stephanie Cooper
The Impact of Misinformation
It appears that misinformation is acting as a key driver in influencing parent perceptions of vitamin K injections. Dr. Bouma emphasized that today’s families are having their choices shaped by false information spread across social media platforms like TikTok. Other parents incorrectly think that the injection could cause things such as autism, adding to their hesitancy.
“Others, she said, are falling prey to misinformation on social media platforms such as TikTok, and some parents mistakenly believe the injection causes autism.” – Dr. Carrah Bouma
Misinformation presents immense burdens on healthcare providers. They have a duty to aggressively counter misinformation with outreach campaigns aimed at educating parents on the risks of refusing vitamin K. In her comments, Dr. Bouma stressed the need to consider long-term ramifications for infants if these trends persist.
“I have serious concerns that infants are going to bear the complications of severe and preventable side effects such as a serious gut bleed, a serious brain bleed that could leave a baby with lifelong deficits such as cerebral palsy or the need for ICU level of care.” – Dr. Carrah Bouma
Addressing Parental Concerns
The ongoing hesitancy has prompted calls for increased parent education regarding the health risks associated with foregoing vitamin K injections. Doctors advocate for transparent discussions with parents about the benefits and safety of the injection in order to rebuild trust in medical recommendations.
Dr. Bouma noted that parental refusal rates were increasing. He urged them to communicate what it really means for babies who don’t get enough vitamin K.
“If a baby has a stroke because they don’t have enough vitamin K, we can’t go back and make that stroke go away. We can’t take away the injury that occurred.” – Dr. Stephanie Cooper
The creative and urgent need for education comes to light when you see these parents latch onto other ways. More than half are now choosing oral medication over accepting the standard injection.
“Families I have found over the last year or so have not wanted that injection; they’ve wanted to give oral medication.” – Dr. Carrah Bouma
