Skipped Newborn Shots Raise Infant Bleeding Risk
Parents who decline the vitamin K shot for their newborn face more than double the risk of brain bleeds in the first six months.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Babies
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Infant vitamin K deficiency bleeding is rising as more newborns skip the vitamin K shot. Two studies published in JAMA and JAMA Pediatrics show the share of newborns going without the shot roughly doubled from 2017 to 2025, affecting families across the United States.
Why it matters
The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended the injection for every newborn for decades, and it is not a vaccine. Mistrust in medicine and public doubt about childhood vaccinations appear to be pushing more parents to decline it, and the cost of that choice is a rise in dangerous bleeding in infants.
Newborns going without the vitamin K shot doubled from 3.1 percent in 2017 to 6.8 percent in 2025 across a study of more than five million infants. Infants who skipped the shot had more than double the risk of brain bleeds in their first six months, at 33 per 10,000 births compared with 13.2 per 10,000 among those who received it.
The players
American Academy of Pediatrics
The national group of pediatricians that has recommended a vitamin K injection for every newborn for decades.
JAMA
The Journal of the American Medical Association, which published one of the two studies on newborn vitamin K shots.
JAMA Pediatrics
The pediatrics journal that published the second study tracking infants who skipped the vitamin K shot.
The details
Vitamin K helps the blood clot, and newborns have low stores of it at birth, which is why the injection is given soon after delivery. When babies do not receive it, they can develop vitamin K deficiency bleeding, which can cause serious bleeding including in the brain. The two studies, published Thursday in JAMA and JAMA Pediatrics, track this pattern across millions of births and link skipping the shot to the higher rate of brain bleeds.
Timeline
2017: Baseline year, when 3.1 percent of newborns in the study went without the vitamin K shot.
2024 to 2025: Vitamin K deficiency bleeding cases roughly doubled.
2025: 6.8 percent of newborns in the study went without the vitamin K shot.
Thursday, November 5, 2026: Two studies were published in JAMA and JAMA Pediatrics.
The Home Front
The rise in skipped newborn shots fits a broader pattern of declining childhood vaccination that researchers have tracked in U.S. birth records. Because the vitamin K injection is not a vaccine, the trend shows hesitancy extending beyond traditional immunizations into routine newborn care.
If you are expecting or caring for a newborn, ask your pediatrician or birthing provider about the vitamin K shot before delivery and confirm whether your baby received it. Keep a written record of the injection in your baby's health documents so you can refer to it at future checkups.
The takeaway
The shot is a simple, long-recommended step that protects a newborn's blood from dangerous bleeding, so confirm with your care team that it is part of your baby's first days. Keep the vitamin K injection record with your baby's medical file so it is easy to find if questions come up later.
Further reading
For related coverage, explore more Babies guidance on newborn health across the country.
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