The moments after a baby is born are supposed to be filled the joy and love. But these Chicagoland parents say those precious moments were stolen by overreaching hospital policies after the parents chose not to have a medication administered to their newborns.
Moments after these babies were born, they was taken from their parents because the parents refused to allow hospital staff to administer the common Vitamin K shot. Now they are fighting back against the DCFS investigations into them. According to a recent study in the Journal of Medical Ethics, somewhere between 0.5% and 3% of parents decline the shots for reasons ranging from religious belief to fear of pain for their newborns.
For those curious about the Vitamin K shot, it provides newborns with a dose of the vital vitamin which is responsible for coagulation. Vitamin K is what allows our blood to clot. Newborns are born without any vitamin K, as it is stored in the liver and therefore does not cross the placenta during pregnancy. Without vitamin K, babies can experience spontaneous internal bleeding. While it is rare, vitamin K deficiency bleeding can have catastrophic consequences, like gross motor skill deficits; long-term neurological, cognitive or developmental problems; organ failure; or even death. For more information, check out the CDC's website.