Listen Now
Episode 47 Content and Overview
Vitamin K and erythromycin are involved in two standard procedures that are done to your newborn shortly after birth. All babies are naturally born with low levels of vitamin K. This vitamin is essential to helping your baby’s blood clot. The shot of vitamin K is designed to provide your baby with adequate levels of vitamin K to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding. Erythromycin eye ointment is an antibacterial medication to prevent eye infections that can cause permanent damage or even blindness in your baby. Find out what the risks are of these complications are and learn more about why vitamin K and erythromycin are administered. Like everything pregnancy and birth related you have choices. This episode gets into why vitamin K and erythromycin are given to your baby, all of the risks and benefits, and your options for the procedures.
Included in This Episode
- Types of vitamin K
- Vitamin K deficiency bleeding
- Types and occurrences of vitamin K deficiency bleeding
- When the shot is given
- Skin to skin & breastfeeding during the shot
- How the shot affects your baby’s risk
- Recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics
- Risk factors for vitamin K deficiency
- Side effects of the shot
- Including the vitamin K shot in your birth plan
- Erythromycin eye ointment
- Side effects of erythromycin
- State laws
- Cause & risks of eye infections
- Considerations before opting out of these procedures
- Talking about these procedures with your care provider
- Sample birth plan
- Get the weekly Pregnancy Podcast newsletter
