# Vitamin K at birth

**Should our newborn get the vitamin K shot?**

Whether your newborn gets vitamin K, which helps blood clot, and in what form. It is usually offered as a single shot in the first hours of life.

In short: Parents choose between 3 main approaches: Intramuscular shot within 6 hours of birth; Oral regimen (three doses over about 8 weeks); Decline. Evidence: well established. Guidance and evidence agree. The real question is whether you'll follow it. Best settled: around the birth.

- Area: Newborn medical choices
- Evidence: Well established
- Best settled: Around the birth
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/newborn-medical-choices--vitamin-k-at-birth

## Vitamin K at birth: what are the options?

1. **Intramuscular shot within 6 hours of birth**: The baby gets a single vitamin K injection in the thigh soon after birth.
2. **Oral regimen (three doses over about 8 weeks)**: The baby gets vitamin K by mouth in several doses over the first weeks.
3. **Decline**: The baby does not get vitamin K.

## Vitamin K at birth: what does the evidence say?

**Well established.** Guidance and evidence agree. The real question is whether you'll follow it.

AAP and CPS both recommend a single intramuscular dose within 6 hours of birth (1 mg for babies over 1,500 g). Where parents decline, CPS gives an oral alternative of 2 mg at the first feeding, repeated at 2-4 and 6-8 weeks, but says injection is substantially more effective at preventing late bleeding; a 1993 review dispelled the old concern about childhood cancer; the AAP reports refusals rising along with late-onset bleeding

Sources:

- [CPS, reaffirmed January 2024](https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/vitamin-k-prophylaxis-in-newborns)
- [AAP](https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/149/3/e2021056036/184866/Vitamin-K-and-the-Newborn-Infant)
- [AAP News](https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/19601/Vitamin-K-policy-addresses-birth-dose-for-term)

## What else is worth knowing?

Newborns have very little vitamin K, which blood needs to clot. A single injection at birth is the standard way to prevent a rare but serious bleeding problem in the first months. An oral course exists and is considered less reliable.

## Questions to ask each other

- What do we know about vitamin K, and what questions do we have for our provider?
- Are there any worries we want to talk through before the birth?
- Who will make sure our choice is written down for the delivery team?

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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=newborn-medical-choices&topic=newborn-medical-choices--vitamin-k-at-birth