US EditionParents Are Refusing Routine Preventative Care for Newborns at Rising Rates, Study Finds
Refusals of vitamin K shots nearly doubled from 2.9% to 5.2% between 2017 and 2024, raising risks of severe bleeding and infections in newborns, researchers found.
- A JAMA study and clinicians documented that refusals of vitamin K shots nearly doubled from 2.9% to 5.2% between 2017 and 2024, while one Idaho hospital saw half of newborns denied vitamin K on one day.
- Many parents say they prefer a natural birth and fear pain, while Dr. Steven Abelowitz cites social media and celebrities spreading misinformation and promoting unregulated oral vitamin K drops, fueling mistrust across political lines.
- Medical evidence shows vitamin K is essential for clotting: newborns without the shot are 81 times more likely to suffer severe bleeding, and erythromycin eye ointment plus hepatitis B vaccine prevent blindness and liver disease, Dr. Kristan Scott and Dr. David Hill warn.
- Doctors across the country say hospitals are spending time educating parents, and Dr. Heather Felton stresses nonjudgmental talks help most families accept newborn preventive care.
- Twelve years ago, care refusals were rare but predate the current surge; Idaho chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics reported eight deaths recently, and a federal advisory committee appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was temporarily blocked by a federal judge on Monday.
60 Articles
60 Articles
It's not just vaccines—parents are refusing other routine preventive care for newborns
One day at an Idaho hospital, half the newborns Dr. Tom Patterson saw didn't get the vitamin K shots that have been given to babies for decades to prevent potentially deadly bleeding. On another recent day, more than a quarter didn't get the shot. Their parents wouldn't allow it.
It's not just vaccines. Parents are refusing other routine preventive care for newborns—even protection from severe bleeding and blindness
One day at an Idaho hospital, half the newborns Dr. Tom Patterson saw didn’t get the vitamin K shots that have been given to babies for decades to prevent potentially deadly bleeding. On another recent day, more than a quarter didn’t get the shot. Their parents wouldn’t allow it. “When you look at a child who’s innocent and vulnerable — and a simple intervention that’s been done since 1961 is refused — knowing that baby’s going out into the worl…
Why a once-routine newborn shot is seeing rising refusals
Newborns have routinely received vitamin K shots in their thighs within 6 hours of birth since the 1960s, but a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association found that more parents are opting out of the preventative measure. Once uncontroversial, parents report rising skepticism about the routine administration, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Academy of Pediatrics has long recommended vitamin K injections fo…
It’s not just vaccines - parents in the U.S. are refusing other routine preventive care for newborns
One day at an Idaho hospital, half the newborns Dr. Tom Patterson saw didn’t get the vitamin K shots that have been given to babies for decades to prevent potentially deadly bleeding. On another recent day, more than a quarter didn’t get the shot. Their parents wouldn’t allow it.
The Toronto Star
It’s not just vaccines - parents are refusing other routine preventive care for newborns
American doctors are alarmed that skepticism fueled by rising anti-science sentiment and medical mistrust is increasingly reaching beyond vaccines.
Chicago Tribune
It’s not just vaccines — parents are refusing other routine preventive care for newborns
One day at an Idaho hospital, half the newborns Dr. Tom Patterson saw didn’t get the vitamin K shots that have been given to babies for decades to prevent potentially deadly bleeding. On another recent day, more than a quarter didn’t get the shot. Their parents wouldn’t allow it.
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