More US newborns are missing the vitamin K shot, and bleeding risk is higher, study finds
A JAMA study of more than 5.2 million US births found the share of newborns not given vitamin K more than doubled between 2017 and 2025, and those infants had higher rates of bleeding, including bleeding in the brain.
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The proportion of US newborns who did not receive a vitamin K injection at birth more than doubled between 2017 and 2025, and those babies were more likely to have bleeding in their first six months. That is the finding of a study published online in JAMA on 5 November 2026.
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