{"id":10295,"date":"2024-01-09T17:12:55","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T23:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/?post_type=jtf_topics&p=10295"},"modified":"2026-07-17T15:49:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T20:49:20","slug":"are-birth-shots-safe-for-newborns","status":"publish","type":"jtf_topics","link":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/jtf_topics\/are-birth-shots-safe-for-newborns\/","title":{"rendered":"Are birth shots safe for newborns?"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row source=”” text=”Clinical Trials” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” google_fonts=”font_family:Abril%20Fatface%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” link=”” css=”.vc_custom_1708910874436{border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 1px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”The Claim:” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text css=””]A\u00a0seasoned anti-vaxxer<\/a> is again promoting the idea that Vitamin K and Hepatitis B vaccines administered at birth can cause jaundice and neurological damage leading to breastfeeding difficulties.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”The Facts:” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text css=””]This tweet tries to link aluminum and alcohol they claim are in the Vitamin K shot to jaundice and neurological damage. However, the Vitamin K shot doesn\u2019t contain aluminum in anything other than trace amounts, much like everything else on this planet \u2013 including\u00a0drinking water<\/a>. It is not added as an ingredient as it is with some vaccines\u00a0(as an\u00a0adjuvant<\/a>), and would only be present because aluminum is present in the environment (ingredient list\u00a0here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that these reactions to Vitamin K shots are far, far more common when\u00a0Vitamin\u00a0K\u00a0is\u00a0given by IV in very large doses<\/a>.\u00a0Vitamin\u00a0K\u00a0is not administered in\u00a0newborns<\/a>\u00a0this way. A birth dose of\u00a0Vitamin\u00a0K\u00a0has only ever been noted in\u00a0one life-threatening case<\/a>\u00a0in a newborn in Turkey.<\/p>\n

Why do we give the Vitamin K shot at birth? Babies are born with very low levels of\u00a0Vitamin\u00a0K, putting them at\u00a0risk for hemorrhagic disease<\/a>\u00a0(uncontrolled bleeding). The\u00a0Vitamin\u00a0K\u00a0shot has reduced the number of severe bleeding cases in babies.<\/p>\n

The tweet also tries to link the Hepatitis B vaccine to neurological damage. The birth dose of Hepatitis B prevents the worst possible complications of the disease, including\u00a0cancer or cirrhosis of the liver<\/a>.\u00a0If a newborn catches Hep B, they have a 90% chance of the disease becoming\u00a0chronic<\/a>, which is a major risk factor for liver cancer.<\/p>\n

Babies born to mothers who are Hepatitis B positive are at the highest risk for developing the disease, but a third of the people who develop Hep B were at\u00a0no risk<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0of developing the disease.<\/p>\n

The vaccine is\u00a0very safe<\/a>, and the benefits of the birth dose far outweigh any risk.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Birth doses of Vitamin K and Hepatitis B are safe. Vitamin K prevents hemorrhagic disease; Hep B vaccination prevents chronic infection and liver cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"template":"","jtf_topic_subjects":[387,410,199,211,409,407,194,218,408],"class_list":["post-10295","jtf_topics","type-jtf_topics","status-publish","hentry","jtf_topic_subjects-aluminum","jtf_topic_subjects-breastfeeding","jtf_topic_subjects-childhood-vaccines","jtf_topic_subjects-hepatitis-b","jtf_topic_subjects-jaundice","jtf_topic_subjects-larry-cook","jtf_topic_subjects-vaccine-ingredients","jtf_topic_subjects-vaccine-safety","jtf_topic_subjects-vitamin-k","entry","no-media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/10295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/jtf_topics"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/10295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17131,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/10295\/revisions\/17131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"jtf_topic_subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topic_subjects?post=10295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}