VITAMIN K

[Guest guest]

At 01:43 PM 10/27/98 +1000, you wrote:

>

> Could someone tell me where I might find information on the vitamin K

> injection given to infants at birth?

>From " How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of your Doctor " by Dr.

Mendelsohn MD:

p. 46

" Many doctors routinely give vitamin K to newborn babies because they have

been

taught that infants are born with a deficiency of this vitamin, which

influences how rapidly the baby's blood will clot. That's nonsense, unless

the

mother is severely malnourished; but most doctors do it anyway.

Administration

of vitamin K to the newborn may produce jauncice, which prompts the

pediatrician to treat it with bilirubin lights (phototherapy). These lights

expose the baby to a dozen documented hazards that may requeire still further

treatement and possibly affect him for the rest of his life. "

p. 265 (in Author's References)

" The value of routine administration of vitamin K to newborn infants was

discounted by Drs. J.M. Van Doorm, A.D. Muller, and H.C. Hemker in The Lancet,

April 17, 1977: " We Conclude that healthy babies, contrary to current beliefs,

are not likely to have vitamin K deficiency... the administration of vitamin K

to the newborn is not supported by our findings... " "

If it helps, vitamin K administration started when bottlefeeding became

commonplace. So, if you are breastfeeding, and don't have a family history of

any type of blood clotting disease, I would say that it's safe to forego.

This is a good book to have; it also has some info on vaccines, the other

" routine " things done to newborns, and many other common health concerns.

Barbara

--

Barbara A. Palansky

bap@...

Cisco Systems, Inc.