#newborn procedures

[childbirthrite]

Vitamin K Injection & Antibiotic Eye Ointment

anonymous asked:

I'd love to hear your opinion on the antibiotic eye ointment and vitamin k shots for newborns. I'm 38 weeks pregnant and my midwife gives me the option to not do them, and I just can't seem to decide which way to go. The more online research I do, the more confused I get! I really respect your perspectives on everything childbirth and baby related, so I'm curious what you think. Thanks!

Thanks for the question! Here is my short answer:

Vitamin K injection - YES!

Antibiotic eye ointment - Maybe.

Now for a longer explanation… Vitamin K Injection: Vitamin K injections are given to newborns to prevent a serious, potentially fatal, bleeding disorder. It is not a vaccine, although it is an injection, so common concerns surrounding vaccines don’t apply. The shot contains Vitamin K, which helps the blood to clot. Without sufficient Vitamin K, some babies can develop a dangerous bleeding disorder, and there is no way to know before it happens if you baby will be prone to this kind of bleeding disorder or not. That is why the injection is recommended for all babies. Eventually the body begins to synthesize its own Vitamin K, but only after the intestines have been sufficiently colonized by beneficial flora. Until the intestines are mature enough to produce Vitamin K on their own, the injected amount of the vitamin can cover that biological gap and prevent the bleeding disorder.

I would recommend you read this news story, about a couple who declined the Vitamin K shot for their twins, one of whom later suffered multiple brain bleeds. Any medically reported adverse reactions to the Vitamin K injection have occurred when the dosage was too large or the baby was premature. Adverse reactions beyond pain at the injection site are very rare (much more rare than the potential bleeding disorder). If you are worried about your baby experiencing pain during the injection, you can request that you hold the baby close and nurse or allow the baby to suck on a finger, which is shown to reduce the stress experienced by babies during common newborn procedures. The benefits of the Vitamin K injection definitely outweigh the risks.

Antibiotic Eye Ointment: Antibiotic eye ointment is regularly administered to newborns to protect against eye infections caused by gonorrhea or chlamydia, which the baby could be exposed to during vaginal birth. The ointment only protects against those two infections, which can cause blindness if a baby’s eyes become infected.

If you are 100% certain that you and your partner are both free of chlamydia and gonorrhea, I think it is safe to skip the ointment. However, the ointment has virtually no side effects aside from blurred vision. During a newborn’s first hour of life, they are typically in a very alert state and are able to make eye contact with their mom and dad, which enhances bonding for the new family. That first hour or so is a really magical time, and it doesn’t make sense to interfere with that by gooping up a baby’s eyes with ointment. So, if you are interested in giving your baby the eye ointment, either due to known risk or just to be extra safe, the procedure can easily be delayed until after the first hour when your baby has fallen into a sleepy period. The ointment will go in and be absorbed all while the baby is going to have its eyes closed any way. Unlike the Vitamin K injection, the ointment doesn’t cause any pain. Again, the benefits of the eye ointment (preventing blindness) outweigh the risks (temporarily blurred vision), but with the eye ointment you can have a fair degree of certainty about your baby’s risk of contacting gonorrhea or chlamydia, whereas there is no way to know if your baby is at risk or not when considering the possible bleeding disorder associated with Vitamin K. I hope this information is helpful. I’m sure you can also discuss this further with your midwife if you have additional questions. callainagle.com

[eugenebirtheducation]

Little pink and blue striped stocking caps have become tradition for our babies. We assume they keep our babies warm, but have you ever questioned if they’re really effective (hint: they’re not)? In fact, those little caps could do more harm than good – here’s why.

[eugenebirtheducation]

The AAP has recognized more benefits of delayed cord clamping at birth!

[thebirtheducator]

The Vitamin K Injection--Should we Give it to Our Baby?

Vitamin K injections are pretty standard in the US. You of course can refuse them (it get trickier to do so if you are a New Yorker...they have a law mandating vitamin K injections for newborns), but why are they so routine, and should we all happily jump on the vitamin K bandwagon or should we choose to decline it for our babies?

Colostrum is the first milk a baby receives from its mother--it's thick, usually slightly yellow-tinged and comes out in very small amounts because a newborn's tummy is so tiny, especially during its first few days of life. Colostrum is chock full of good, healthy nutritious "stuff" for your baby; that is why many people refer to it as "Nature's vaccine." One nutrient found in abundance in  colostrum is vitamin K. So if you are planning to breastfeed your baby, the vitamin K injection might not be necessary.

A bummer about this routine newborn procedure is that it is an injection. Some parents feel it is best to avoid this kind of unpleasant stimulation for their baby, but if you do feel better giving your baby some extra vitamin K, you can request an oral dose. The oral dose allows the vitamin K to be processed through the baby's gut, which is a far more natural way than intramuscularly with an injection (but check with the hospital fist, since some don't stock oral vitamin K).

Finally, if you have a boy and plan to circumcise him, it would be best to wait until the eighth day when a newborn's vitamin K levels are naturally at their highest.

[mommafriendly]

[eugenebirtheducation]

Should Your Doc Wait To Cut The Cord?

For many parents, cutting the umbilical cord is a memorable moment in the breathless seconds after their baby is born.

There is a lot of information out there right now about the benefits of delaying cord clamping. Outside of any emergency information, there is no reason to immediately clamp and cut the cord. Baby needs the benefits of that extra blood being pumped to him from the placenta.