Eye Medicine and Vitamin K Injection for Newborns

Newborn babies routinely get eye medicine and a vitamin K shot (injection) soon after birth. Both prevent serious conditions.

Why do newborns get eye medicine?

Antibiotic eye drops or ointment are placed in a newborn’s eyes after birth. This is to protect babies from getting a bacterial eye infection from gonorrhea that can occur during birth. Untreated, this infections can cause serious problems including blindness. The antibiotic erythromycin is used most often.

The ointment or drops may make a baby’s eyes look cloudy or moist around the eyelids. In rare cases, some newborns’ eyes may become red or swollen. This is short-term. The medicine shouldn’t be washed or cleaned out of the eyes.

Why do newborns get vitamin K injections?

Vitamin K is important to blood clotting. Newborn babies can have low levels of Vitamin K from birth to 6 months of age due to low levels received through the placenta, produced by the liver, or in breast milk The injection greatly reduces the risk of vitamin K deficiency bleeding (hemorrhagic disease of the newborn). Vitamin K deficiency bleeding can be potentially fatal, leading to internal bleeding, especially in the brain Early symptoms include easy bruising, blood in the stool or urine, or oozing from the umbilical cord Most babies get an injection of vitamin K in the upper thigh. This may be briefly painful to the baby, but it doesn’t seem to cause babies any pain afterward. Oral Vitamin K does not provide sufficient protection against this condition and is not recommended Without the vitamin K injection, babies are about 80 times more likely to have vitamin K deficiency bleeding. This bleeding can lead to death or serious long-term disability.

If you have concerns about either of these treatments, talk with your baby’s healthcare provider.