Most supporters of the anti - vaccination movement pleader for “ natural ” disease bar , such as taking lot of vitamin to pad the immune system . So why are they oppose using vitamin grand to care for baby born with a inadequacy ? Because it ’s drive home by injectant , of course .
The family of similar molecules known as vitamin G modify blood proteins so that they bind to Ca ion , allowing clotting . Most people get all the vitamin K they need from their diet , particularly greenish leafy veg , althoughsome conditions result in inadequacy .
However , the situation for baby is unlike , particularly newborns . Vitamin grand deficiency occur in2 - 10 sheath out of 100,000 , with symptom appearing anywhere in the first 12 weeks of aliveness .
While the moment can be living - threatening , with grave bleeding potentially direct to encephalon damage or demise , in the developed human race there is a simple handling – intramuscular vitamin K1 injections . All newborns in the USA are now give a everyday vitamin K shot , move out the risk all .
However , Vanderbilt University ’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children ’s Hospital has reported eight cases of Vitamin K Deficient Bleeding ( VKDB ) in the last year . Descriptions of thefirst four casesshould be enough to get any parent to concord to their shaver getting the accessory , but it seems not .
A Centers for Disease Control study on why parent refuse vitamin K snapshot ascertain , " understanding included concern about an increase risk for leucaemia when vitamin K is lot , an impression that the shot was unneeded , and a desire to minimize the newborn ’s exposure to ' toxins . ' "
The American Academy of Pediatrics , have close , " Earlier concern regarding a possible causal association between parenteral [ inject ] vitamin K and childhood cancer hasnot been substantiated . ” Moreover , even if such an connexion did exist , the danger would be edict of magnitude lower than that from VKDB .
Unfortunately , as Chris Mooneypoints out in Mother Jones , the forces of evidence - based music are fighting against a lunar time period of misinformation , spread mainly by the well - make love anti - vaccine advocates , who call the injections “ a terrible assault to a infant ’s suddenly overloaded sensorial organisation . ”
Vitamin kB can be administered orally but this has beenshown to beless effective than via injection , as the baby may disgorge up the dose , and parents often forget to hold fast to the government .
One of the problems with favoring ideology over grounds is that , once go , it ’s unvoiced to stop . As Amanda Marcottesays at Slate , “ The anti - vaccination movement has morph into an anti - iridescent movement , and it ’s children who are paying the monetary value . ”
