Key facts
- The percentage of parents refusing the standard vitamin K shot for infants at birth has accelerated sharply this year.
- Health records for over 1 million births nationwide revealed a more than 57% jump in non-receipt of the vitamin K shot from January through June.
- The rate of non-receipt was 2.5 times higher than the average rate from 2019 to 2024.
- Without the shot, newborns are 81 times more likely to have life-threatening bleeding in the brain or gut in the first six months.
- Baby girls are disproportionately impacted by the rising rates of vitamin K refusals, with 8.9% not receiving the shot in June 2026 compared to 7.3% of boys.
- Some pediatric practices are now stocking the vitamin K shot in primary care settings.
The percentage of parents and caregivers in the United States refusing a standard vitamin K shot for infants at birth has accelerated sharply this year, an analysis of health records revealed. This trend puts more newborns at risk of life-threatening bleeding episodes, a growing concern for pediatricians and medical specialists.
The data from health data company Truveta shows that the rate of newborns not receiving the vitamin K shot within a day of birth jumped more than 57% from January through June. This rate was 2.5 times higher than the average from 2019 to 2024 and 1.4 times higher than in 2025. The percentage of U.S. infants not receiving vitamin K at birth climbed to 8.1% at the end of June, from 5.2% six months earlier.
Babies are born with very low levels of vitamin K, which is essential for blood clotting. Without the injection, they are 81 times more likely in the first six months of life to suffer severe bleeding in the brain or gut, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in five infants who experience serious bleeding will die, and such bleeding occurs in one out of 59 births without the shot.
Pediatricians attribute the rise in refusals to growing mistrust toward vaccines and other newborn interventions, often fueled by messages from figures like Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump. Kennedy has previously questioned the necessity of multiple childhood vaccines. While changes he recommended are on hold due to a court ruling, experts suggest the mixed messages have created parental doubt about routine newborn treatments.
Concerns about vitamin K and declining trust in public health institutions predate the current administration and grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency stated it is working to rebuild trust and respect individual choice.
Doctors are observing the trend firsthand. Some pediatric practices have begun stocking the vitamin K shot in their primary care offices. A significant observation is that baby girls are disproportionately impacted by the rising rates of vitamin K refusals, raising questions about whether vitamin K deficiency and bleeding events will affect more female infants. The desire to have male infants circumcised often overrides parental concerns about the shot, with some hospitals maintaining a strict policy of no vitamin K, no circumcision.