Popular anti-vax doctor does 180 on a newborn injection for devastating fatal condition

A prominent anti-vaxxer is reversing his stance on a lifesaving injection.Dr.Joseph Mercola once cautioned parents against administering vitamin K shots, calling it “completely unnecessary for your newborn” — but he’s publicly changing his tune.“The data is clear: Vitamin K saves lives,” the osteopath conceded on his website.His about-face comes as doctors across the country are seeing an alarming increase in newborns developing vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB), a rare but potentially fatal condition that can cause them to internally bleed to death — but which can be averted with a single vitamin K shot.Infants are born with very limited stores of vitamin K, as the nutrient is not readily transferred from mother to fetus across the placenta or in breast milk, which contains only small amounts.

This deficiency compromises a baby’s ability to form clots in the first six months of life.The vitamin K shot has been recommended to all newborns shortly after birth since 1961, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.Those who don’t get the shot are 81 times more likely to develop VKDB in their first six months.The condition can result in symptoms like significant hemorrhaging of the brain and gut, unexplained bruising, seizures, vomiting blood, blood in stool, brain damage and even death.“A lot of babies with severe brain bleeds can have significant issues such as cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, if it’s mild or death in the worst-case scenarios,” Dr. Candice Foy, a pediatrician and medical director of the newborn nursery at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, previously told The Post.Mercola shocked some of his followers when he spoke out in favor of the shots.“The science has moved decisively, and my position has changed with it.

When the data changes, informed positions change too,” he wrote.“Vitamin K deficiency bleeding is rare, but when it occurs, the consequences can be devastating and irreversible.A single ...