Vitamin K for babies

The Health Council of the Netherlands recommends switching to a different policy for the administration of vitamin K to babies. The current oral administration policy does not work optimally. In the Netherlands, bleedings due to vitamin K deficiency in babies are still more common than in countries with a different administration policy. This is what the council writes in an advice to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. 

In the Netherlands, babies are administered vitamin K after birth. This vitamin K supplementation is intended to prevent bleedings due to a vitamin K deficiency. Such bleedings are not common, but can be very serious, especially if they occur in the brain. Currently, babies get the vitamin through drops in the mouth (orally). All babies are administered a dose directly after birth by the health care professional that is present at the birth. After that, parents are advised to give breastfed babies vitamin K drops daily, until the age of 3 months. 

Under the current Dutch vitamin K administration policy, there are still bleedings due to vitamin K deficiency in babies. In countries with a different administration policy, bleedings are less common. The Health Council committee Vitamin K for infants assessed foreign administration variants for which data on efficacy and safety are available.  

Administering vitamin K with a single injection into the muscle directly after birth works best, according to the committee. With this so-called intramuscular policy the most health gains can be achieved. There are also two oral variants with which, according to the committee, health gains can be achieved. With these variants, the oral doses are higher and less frequent than with the current Dutch policy. If implementation of an intramuscular administration policy is not feasible, the committee advises switching to one of the two oral alternatives, under the condition that the oral policy can be implemented optimally so that the potential health gains are actually realised.