A JAMA study found that 6.8% of babies missed a vitamin K shot at birth in 2025, more than double the 3.1% rate in 2017. The findings point to a growing share of newborns facing vitamin K deficiency bleeding risk in the first days and months of life.
The study, published on Thursday, reviewed more than 5.2 million health records from Epic Cosmos data. It also showed the refusal rate rose from 5.6% in 2024 to 6.8% in 2025.
Dr. Thomas Patterson in Idaho
Dr. Thomas Patterson, an Idaho pediatrician, said the shift felt different from earlier years. “Prior to, say 22 or so, vitamin K refusals were very sporadic and rare, and they weren't all-consuming,” he said to News.
He said the change has become visible in daily practice. “There has been a significant uptick for me... One day [this year], I had 10 babies and five of them went out of the hospital without vitamin K.”
Vitamin K at birth
Vitamin K has been recommended for newborns in the U.S. since the early 1960s, and the shot is given as a single intramuscular injection soon after birth. Babies are born with very small amounts of vitamin K and do not get enough through their diet in the first few months of life.
The CDC says that leaves babies at increased risk of vitamin K deficiency bleeding. Doctors say VKDB is very rare in the U.S. when the shot is given, which makes the rising refusal rate a direct shift in how many newborns begin life without a long-standing preventive step.
Dr. David Hill on bleeding risk
Dr. David Hill, a hospitalist, pediatrician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the biology is straightforward. “Vitamin K is absolutely critical for our livers to make the clotting factors that help our blood clot,” he said.
He said the concern is not a routine bruise or mild symptom. “What we're really worried about is serious life-threatening bleeding... And often, by the time we figure out that bleeding is happening, it's really too late to stop the worst consequences of it.”
Hill also said the refusal trend has sped up while the intervention itself has a long record of use. He said vitamin K refusal “has increased dramatically, and we're talking about an intervention that we have been using safely and effectively since 1961.”
Scott said the new numbers show the practical result for newborns. “This is certainly evidence that more babies are not receiving vitamin K, and more babies are at risk of bleeding,” she said.
For parents, the immediate issue is simple: the shot is meant to protect a baby before bleeding starts. Once it is refused at birth, the child begins life without that protection, and the study suggests that choice is becoming more common.
The open question now is what is causing more parents to decline vitamin K shots for newborns.
