PO Vitamin K?

[VTBabyNurse]

Has anyone heard of/practiced giving newborns Vit K PO?

We have a patient who is requesting it so the baby won't get a painful injection.

(Ironically, also wants to circumcise the baby).

Anyway, since we have all seen many a birth plan...I thought someone else might have heard of this.

Thanks!

[kfmc]

We do give po Vit k po but not in newborn. It kinda opposes the very reason why its being given per IV.

[CMCRN]

IV? that must be a typo

We do have a protocol for po Vitamin K. Double the IM dose orally but it does require 2 follow up doses and is somewhat hard to find outside the hospital setting apparently. Compounding pharmacies can make it up for you though.

[kfmc]

owh yeah, IM for newborn. Am talking bout children, we do give those IV prep as po

[AssociateDegree]

Oral vitamin K protocols have been around for a long time and can be used when parents refuse IM injections. However, parents should understand that even if they follow the protocol to the letter, their baby may still develop bleeding. Here is a link to Stanford's protocol: Vitamin K - Newborn Nursery at LPCH - Stanford University School of Medicine

[ayla2004, ASN, RN]

our vik-k for newborm comes can be given im but the manufactuer also supplies oral syringes. needed to give an adult a im dosed and it took 5 vials or new born strength

[klone, MSN, RN]

It doesn't work as well as IM. Also, for an exclusively breastfed baby, it can interfere with baby's "pristine gut" and negate many of the benefits of exclusively breastfeeding, WRT intestinal flora.

The fact that she wants PO K, but also to circ, is baffling to me. If I were to circ my baby, I would want to make doubly sure that the Vitamin K is working effectively.

[Nire83]

Typically PO vit K needs to be given at birth, 3 days and 3 weeks.

[Jolie, BSN]

Has the physician indicated that s/he will delay the circ for lack of IM vitamin K?

[CEG]

I have heard of it and planned to use it with my last baby but in the end just skipped it altogether (home waterbirth, membranes intact until a few minutes before delivery, no trauma whatsoever). It is as effective as IM except with the variation of any oral drug- emesis or other digestive upsets.

I certainly would not circ a baby who had received the oral vit K due to the fact that the dosage is drawn out. I wouldn't circ any baby though so I guess I am biased. But as the nurse i would definitely raise that concern with the docs.

Also, it's a very odd choice from the parents so it might be worth exploring their reasons for their choice- perhaps they are misinformed about one or the other?

[Nire83]

I agree CEG. I would strongly encourage them to wait at least 8 days to circ, when naturally the vit K levels increase.