47: Vitamin K & Erythromycin

Vitamin K and erythromycin are involved in two standard procedures that are done to your newborn shortly after birth. All babies are naturally born with low levels of vitamin K. This vitamin is essential to helping your baby's blood clot. The shot of vitamin K is designed to provide your baby with adequate levels of vitamin K to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding. Erythromycin eye ointment is an antibacterial medication to prevent eye infections that can cause permanent damage or even blindness in your baby. Find out what the risks are of these complications are and learn more about why vitamin K and erythromycin are administered. Like everything pregnancy and birth related you have choices. This episode gets into what the vitamin K and erythromycin procedures entail, why they are done, all of the risks and benefits, and your options.