Life-threatening infant bleeding rates have doubled in a year as parents make dangerous mistake

Vaccines aren’t the only thing slipping through the cracks for the nation’s youngest.A growing number of parents are rejecting a routine treatment given to newborns shortly after birth — despite more than 60 years of medical recommendations.Now, researchers are warning that the shift away from the decades-old practice is coinciding with a troubling rise in potentially deadly bleeding episodes among infants.In a sweeping new study, researchers analyzed electronic health records for 5.2 million babies born across the US between 2017 and 2025, tracking them through their first six months of life.They found that 234,825 infants — roughly 4.5% — had no documented record of receiving a vitamin K shot.The injection is crucial because babies are born with very low levels of the nutrient, which is essential for blood clotting.They typically don’t get significant amounts from food until they begin eating solids, including leafy greens, around 6 months old.That leaves a critical window when infants are vulnerable to vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB), a rare but potentially fatal condition that can cause spontaneous internal bleeding.Fortunately, a single vitamin K shot can prevent it.

But without the injection, babies are 81 times more likely to develop VKDB.The shot has been recommended for all newborns since 1961, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).The latest findings show just how much of a difference it can make.Babies without a documented vitamin K shot had 288 bleeding events per 10,000 births in their first six months, compared with 186 among those who received the injection.Even after accounting for factors such as gestational age, sex, maternal characteristics and insurance status, researchers found that babies without the shot had a 47% higher risk of bleeding.“The difference was particularly concerning for bleeding in or around the brain, a potentially life-threatening complication,” Dr.

Kevin Dysart, senior study co-author an...