new in anti VAX wars:vit k

[sushi]

www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/30/babies-suffer-bleeding-disorder-after-parents-refuse-shots-/2750023/

They're seriously worried about the pain of a shot after the baby just spent hours being squeezed through a tube?

I'm sure brain bleeds aren't painless either

[lyssbobiss, Command, B613]

Oh come ON.

[ttt]

Pediatricians told him parents are increasingly refusing consent because of concerns based on misinformation or the goal of having natural childbirths.

"These were all patients that were born at home or born in the hospital, but all had declined vitamin K," Sidonio said.

All four children survived, but the three who suffered brain bleeds face challenges.

"These are kids that end up having surgery to remove the large amount of blood out of their head or they would have died," he said. "It's early. It's only since February, but some of the kids have issues with seizure disorders and will have long-term neurological symptoms related to seizures and developmental delays."



You'd think that if these parents care SO much about being all-natural, they would have declined the surgery and just let their babies die of brain bleeds. That's nature for you, folks! 

[ttt]

Then you have comments like this: 


Lindsay Van Allen You are so right ! It makes me so mad the medical field are so misleading! Makes you wonder what they did back when women were having their children at home!


You know what they did? THEY DIED. 

[irishbride2]

Vit k has been the hippie thing to avoid for awhile. I remember people talking about it when dd was born.

[mrsdewinter]

Jul 31, 2014 9:51:39 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Vit k has been the hippie thing to avoid for awhile. I remember people talking about it when dd was born.

Yes, it's definitely not a new thing.  People have been declining it, along with the eye prophylaxis, at least as long as I've been a parent.

I do wonder if doctors could do a better job at prenatal appts of explaining the routine newborn procedures.  I've had 3 kids and I can't think of any doctors ever explaining to me why the vitamin K shot is important. If parents aren't really getting any guidance from doctors, it seems like they'll be more susceptible to the vast misinformation on the internets.  And then they end up thinking vitamin K causes cancer.

[mrsdewinter]

Jul 31, 2014 9:51:39 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Vit k has been the hippie thing to avoid for awhile. I remember people talking about it when dd was born.

Yes, it's definitely not a new thing.  People have been declining it, along with the eye prophylaxis, at least as long as I've been a parent.

I do wonder if doctors could do a better job at prenatal appts of explaining the routine newborn procedures.  I've had 3 kids and I can't think of any doctors ever explaining to me why the vitamin K shot is important. If parents aren't really getting any guidance from doctors, it seems like they'll be more susceptible to the vast misinformation on the internets.  And then they end up thinking vitamin K causes cancer.

[Deleted]

When I did the hospital tour back over the winter before my DS, there was a pain in the ass mom there too who questioned EVERYTHING. The nurse was explaining about Vitamin K, and she pipes in that "How do I make sure that does NOT happen to my daughter. How COMPLETELY unnecessary." The nurse just gave her a WTF look, and kept talking. lol. People are crazy.

[sushi]

My only hippie anti vax friend (at least that would any this to me) accepted vit k because vitamins are good. She turned down everything else.

[rosiedozie]

Jul 31, 2014 10:00:45 GMT -5 mrsdewinter said:

Jul 31, 2014 9:51:39 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Vit k has been the hippie thing to avoid for awhile. I remember people talking about it when dd was born.

Yes, it's definitely not a new thing.  People have been declining it, along with the eye prophylaxis, at least as long as I've been a parent.

I do wonder if doctors could do a better job at prenatal appts of explaining the routine newborn procedures.  I've had 3 kids and I can't think of any doctors ever explaining to me why the vitamin K shot is important. If parents aren't really getting any guidance from doctors, it seems like they'll be more susceptible to the vast misinformation on the internets.  And then they end up thinking vitamin K causes cancer.

I wonder if this is because of the disconnect between OB care for pregnant for women vs. newborn care from pedis. Who would take on that conversation with the parents?

[heyjude]

I don't even remember this being discussed in the hospital. I don't know if we did it? I don't remember having an opinion on this but it was totally one of those things in 2011 that the good crunchy moms were supposed to reject.

[Deleted]

Jul 31, 2014 11:40:54 GMT -5 rosiedozie said:

Jul 31, 2014 10:00:45 GMT -5 mrsdewinter said:

Yes, it's definitely not a new thing.  People have been declining it, along with the eye prophylaxis, at least as long as I've been a parent.

I do wonder if doctors could do a better job at prenatal appts of explaining the routine newborn procedures.  I've had 3 kids and I can't think of any doctors ever explaining to me why the vitamin K shot is important. If parents aren't really getting any guidance from doctors, it seems like they'll be more susceptible to the vast misinformation on the internets.  And then they end up thinking vitamin K causes cancer.

I wonder if this is because of the disconnect between OB care for pregnant for women vs. newborn care from pedis. Who would take on that conversation with the parents?

Tangent--but are most doctors thorough about explaining much of anything? Or do they just kind of expect people to go through the motions?

I'm not sure that an explanation will actually change the minds of these people, but it may help with a few people.

[Velar Fricative]

I do agree that during prenatal appointments, Vitamin K shots should be brought up. I didn't know about them until I read a book about what to expect during baby's first year (Baby 411). But New York State law does require Vitamin K shots for all babies upon birth - I'm surprised I haven't heard of any crazies challenging that law yet.

[arch01]

Jul 31, 2014 11:40:54 GMT -5 rosiedozie said:

Jul 31, 2014 10:00:45 GMT -5 mrsdewinter said:

Yes, it's definitely not a new thing.  People have been declining it, along with the eye prophylaxis, at least as long as I've been a parent.

I do wonder if doctors could do a better job at prenatal appts of explaining the routine newborn procedures.  I've had 3 kids and I can't think of any doctors ever explaining to me why the vitamin K shot is important. If parents aren't really getting any guidance from doctors, it seems like they'll be more susceptible to the vast misinformation on the internets.  And then they end up thinking vitamin K causes cancer.

I wonder if this is because of the disconnect between OB care for pregnant for women vs. newborn care from pedis. Who would take on that conversation with the parents?

I've never thought much about that disconnect until now. The pedi that saw DS after delivery didn't say much of anything to DH, the nurses half explained things to him, and I was passed out on an operating table so I was useless. I can't remember if the NB care was in our paperwork when I was admitted-but I do think the pedi needs to explain what's going on. We weren't going to decline anything, but the in the moment info would've been nice, no matter how much of a daze DH was in.

[omgzombies]

I'm pretty crunchy, I passed on the silver nitrate drops (I'd been tested for STDs as part of my prenatal healthcare, and knew that I was clean), but Vitamin K, you betcha my kidlets got that. That stuff be important!

[mrsdewinter]

Jul 31, 2014 11:40:54 GMT -5 rosiedozie said:

Jul 31, 2014 10:00:45 GMT -5 mrsdewinter said:

Yes, it's definitely not a new thing.  People have been declining it, along with the eye prophylaxis, at least as long as I've been a parent.

I do wonder if doctors could do a better job at prenatal appts of explaining the routine newborn procedures.  I've had 3 kids and I can't think of any doctors ever explaining to me why the vitamin K shot is important. If parents aren't really getting any guidance from doctors, it seems like they'll be more susceptible to the vast misinformation on the internets.  And then they end up thinking vitamin K causes cancer.

I wonder if this is because of the disconnect between OB care for pregnant for women vs. newborn care from pedis. Who would take on that conversation with the parents?

That could definitely be an issue. But my OBs always talked to me about newborn circ, it seems like it would be easy enough for the OB to bring up the importance of vitamin K, especially since it is done immediately after birth, before most babies see a pediatrician.

I had my third baby with a family practice doc and the continuity of care with having the same doctor as my baby was really nice. But even then, my doctor asked if we wanted to do the vitamin k but never explained why it was important. Maybe she would have if we had refused.

[StrawberryBlondie]

My ob required a certain prenatal class. It was taught by an l & d nurse. She covered all this stuff. The nurses talked about it right after I was admitted, too. I do think it should be discussed at appointments, though.

[downtoearth]

Jul 31, 2014 12:19:04 GMT -5 omgzombies said:

I'm pretty crunchy, I passed on the silver nitrate drops (I'd been tested for STDs as part of my prenatal healthcare, and knew that I was clean), but Vitamin K, you betcha my kidlets got that. That stuff be important!

Ditto - even without getting circumcised at birth they got vit K - I only mention circumcision b/c that was the doctor's statements about why vitamin K was needed to me.

[thecatinthehat]

Jul 31, 2014 10:00:35 GMT -5 mrsdewinter said:

Jul 31, 2014 9:51:39 GMT -5 irishbride2 said:

Vit k has been the hippie thing to avoid for awhile. I remember people talking about it when dd was born.

Yes, it's definitely not a new thing.  People have been declining it, along with the eye prophylaxis, at least as long as I've been a parent.

I do wonder if doctors could do a better job at prenatal appts of explaining the routine newborn procedures.  I've had 3 kids and I can't think of any doctors ever explaining to me why the vitamin K shot is important. If parents aren't really getting any guidance from doctors, it seems like they'll be more susceptible to the vast misinformation on the internets.  And then they end up thinking vitamin K causes cancer.

I can't tell you how pissed DH is when a mom tells him "NO" even after counseling her of its importance and she is "well informed". If only it was okay to say "well you most certainly are not!"

[Deleted]

One of my friends is a family doctor that does some deliveries. She has more luck convincing the skeptical parents with an anecdote (she has, in fact, seen a baby with a brain bleed) than facts. People like anecdotes.