Newborn Vitamin K Refusals Rise as Bleeding Risks Increase
Two studies of U.S. newborns found that vitamin K shot refusals have risen since 2017, alongside increases in bleeding associated with vitamin K deficiency. The shot is recommended soon after birth to help prevent potentially severe bleeding; vitamin K helps blood clot, and newborns have low levels of it.
In the JAMA study, researchers analyzed more than 5.2 million health records. The share of newborns without a shot more than doubled, from 3.1% in 2017 to 6.8% in 2025. The rate increased from 5.6% to 6.8% between 2024 and 2025.
That study found infants who did not receive the shot had a 47% higher risk of any recorded bleeding event in their first six months than infants who did. Their risk of brain bleeding more than doubled, as did their chance of dying before leaving the hospital after birth.
A separate JAMA Pediatrics study examined records for more than 11 million infants born from 2017 to 2025. It found the number who missed the shot doubled, while vitamin K deficiency bleeding rose 347%, reaching 107.4 cases per 100,000 infants.
Doctors warn that late bleeding can occur without warning and may cause brain injury or death. About half of infants with late vitamin K deficiency bleeding have brain bleeds, the CDC says. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended the shot since the 1960s. After an investigation published in May documented bleeding and deaths following refusals, lawmakers urged the CDC to track shot uptake and related deaths and publish the information.
Rising Newborn Bleeding Shows the Cost of Public Health Distrust
The rising refusal of newborn vitamin K shots is reversing decades of protection against preventable bleeding, two studies show. The findings underline the stakes when distrust of public health and unease about newborn interventions push families away from a recommended preventive measure.
In the JAMA study of more than 5.2 million records, the share of newborns who did not receive the shot climbed from 3.1% in 2017 to 6.8% in 2025. Those infants had a 47% higher risk of any recorded bleeding in their first six months, and more than twice the risk of brain bleeding and dying before leaving the hospital after birth.
A separate study of more than 11 million infants found the number missing the shot doubled between 2017 and 2025. Over the same period, vitamin K deficiency bleeding rose 347%, to 107.4 cases per 100,000 infants.
Vitamin K supports blood clotting, and newborns have low levels. The shot has been recommended since the 1960s; late bleeding can arrive without warning and can cause lasting brain injury. The studies’ findings challenge the notion that a long-established preventive intervention is unnecessary simply because its success made the danger less visible.
Lawmakers have urged the CDC to track compliance and deaths and make the information public. That request follows an investigation published in May on babies who bled or died after parents declined the shot.
Parents’ Choices and Public Trust Matter in Newborn Care
A growing number of parents are choosing not to give newborns vitamin K shots, and two studies show the resulting bleeding risk deserves serious attention. But the findings also point to a wider challenge: public health advice must contend with growing parental unease and eroding trust, rather than treating questions about interventions as a problem that can be dismissed.
The JAMA study analyzed more than 5.2 million health records and found the share of newborns who missed the shot rose from 3.1% in 2017 to 6.8% in 2025. Those infants had higher risks of bleeding, brain bleeding and dying before leaving the hospital after birth than infants who received the shot.
A second study, drawing on records for more than 11 million infants, found that the number who did not receive vitamin K doubled from 2017 to 2025. Vitamin K deficiency bleeding increased 347%, to 107.4 cases per 100,000 infants.
The shot has been recommended since the 1960s because newborns have low vitamin K levels, which help blood clot. Doctors warn that bleeding can be severe and may occur without warning. Those risks make clear why families need useful, credible information about the decision, not only appeals to authority.
Lawmakers have called on the CDC to track shot uptake and related deaths and make the data public. Transparent monitoring could help clarify the scale of the problem as parents and health professionals navigate the consequences of rising refusals.
Reported by ABC7 Los Angeles, PhillyVoice.
