Vitamin K is a necessary ingredient for your body’s clotting mechanism. An injection of vitamin K may be given to you late in your pregnancy so tat both you and the fetus will be well prepared for delivery. Normally, the intestinal bacteria synthesize enough of this vitamin for our bodies. However, since the newborn baby’s intestines will not have much bacteria for several days after birth, he/she may receive an injection of vitamin K to decrease the likelihood of bleeding problems.

Vitamin K1 is the naturally occurring form of this Vitamin mainly found in plants. This is the main source of this vitamin for humans. Green leafy vegetables and dairy products are rich in Vitamin K1. In addition, bacteria in the gut make Vitamin K2 which is the other, less important, source of the vitamin. Vitamin K is essential in the normal process of clotting of blood. Severe deficiency of this vitamin can therefore lead to an increased risk of excessive bleeding. Vitamin K deficiency is generally quite rare and rarer still in pregnant women. In a straight-forward pregnancy, Vitamin K supplementation is rarely required.

There are situations where a woman may be advised to have Vitamin K supplements to reduce the risk of bleeding for her newborn. This could be in cases where she is taking anticonvulsant medication for epilepsy. These drugs tend to increase the consumption of Vitamin K and therefore pose the risk of creating a deficiency. The baby may be at risk of cerebral haemorrhage in case of a pre-term or a traumatic birth especially if instruments (forceps) are used.

Other conditions with increased risk of Vitamin K deficiency are ulcerative colitis, sprue and other chronic bowel diseases where absorption of dietary Vitamin K might be impaired.

Vitamin K is routinely given to all new-borns to minimise the risk of internal bleeding.