ProPublica: Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject a Vitamin Shot Given at Birth

[Passages]

Last edited Wed May 6, 2026, 09:53 AM - Edit history (2)

by Duaa Eldeib
May 6, 2026, 6:00 am

They entered the world the way babies should, with piercing cries announcing their arrival. They passed their newborn screening tests. Some made it to their 2-week wellness visits without concern.

Then, without warning, their systems began to shut down. A 7-week-old boy in Maryland developed sudden seizures. An 11-pound girl in Alabama stopped breathing for 20 seconds at a time. A baby boy in Kentucky vomited before becoming lethargic. A brown-haired girl in Texas, not yet 2 weeks old, bled around her belly button.

Desperate to save them, records show, doctors inserted tubes into their airways and hooked them up to IVs. They ordered blood transfusions. They spent half an hour trying to resuscitate one boy until his parents told them they could stop. They shaved another boy’s soft locks to embed a needle directly into his skull to reduce the pressure in his brain.

None of it was enough.

At the morgue, the babies were brought in with their diapers and blankets and with their hospital ID bracelets still wrapped around their tiny ankles. The pathologists’ findings were like those you would typically see in ailing adults, not newborns — the kind of bleeding seen during strokes or brain tissue loss similar to what happens when radiation is administered to treat cancer.
https://www.propublica.org/article/more-parents-decline-vitamin-k-shot-newborns

Edited to add info re: legality of parent neglect:

The Legality of Vitamin K Refusal in the United States

Avrohom Levy 1,✉, Shira Nabatian 2
Editors: Alexander Muacevic, John R Adler

Conclusions
Vitamin K prophylaxis is a simple, safe, and life-saving intervention that has significantly reduced the incidence of VKDB in newborns. However, parental refusal, often influenced by misinformation and distrust in the medical system, creates a public health concern. Ironically, the very success of Vitamin K supplementation in preventing VKDB may contribute to the problem, as many parents remain unaware of its critical role. A concerted governmental effort is needed to track Vitamin K refusal and VKDB cases, whether at the state or national levels. Improved data collection would help quantify the extent of the issue, providing the necessary foundation for legislation aimed at preventing VKDB.

The reluctance to intervene in Vitamin K refusal raises an important ethical question: How much avoidable risk to a child is too much to ignore? In cases like untreated leukemia, the certainty of death without treatment compels authorities to intervene. Yet, when it comes to preventive measures like Vitamin K, the absence of immediate danger should not diminish the obligation to protect vulnerable children. Consider car seat laws - while most car trips do not end in accidents, the potential for harm is significant enough to justify mandatory restraints. If society accepts car seat regulations as a means to safeguard children from preventable harm, why isn't Vitamin K supplementation viewed in a similar way? Addressing these issues requires a multifaceted approach, including provider education, public health initiatives, and potential legal frameworks to ensure newborns receive this essential preventive measure. Moving forward, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and public health organizations must work together to combat misinformation, strengthen advocacy, and reinforce the necessity of Vitamin K administration to safeguard infant health.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11929546/#abstract1





How long is the list of issues we must fix for our country?

[ms liberty]

1. The stupid really will kill you. Or your babies.

[Passages]

2. Incredible to me how this can be a real issue when in fact, there is no good reason for it.

[UpInArms]

3. More from your link

A third family, who made their decision after reading about vitamin K on social media and talking with their midwife, dismissed the vitamin K shot altogether. Instead, the father expressed outrage at the hospital for not delaying the clamping of the umbilical cord. He said he believed doing so would have allowed his son to be infused with vitamin K from the cord blood, a popular theory on social media.

Research, however, shows that while delayed cord clamping can raise the baby’s hemoglobin levels, it does not have the same effect on vitamin K.

“I figured the hospital was already pissy with me because we didn’t vaccinate at all,” he told ProPublica. “They lost out on all the money from that.”

The family’s anger has subsided some since the baby’s death, in part because of their trust in God’s plan.
“I can sit here and be upset and sad, but this brought me closer to God,” the father said. “I just can’t wait to be with him.”

[maxrandb]

4. There is a way this "dad" can speed up his visit with God, don't ya' know?

[UpInArms]

6. The baby might have had a chance

if his parents weren’t so stupid.

[IbogaProject]

34. Would the child have really had a good chance?

Stupidity is inherited, directly by genetics and by lack of education. I love how the let's make a twelve year old carry a risky rape pregnancy to term want freedom to reject medical procedures and kill and/or harm their child.

[Passages]

5. They're so lost, when I first read it one would think you're reading an article from a 100 years ago.

[UpInArms]

7. I see it around me

here in rural Missouri …

These snake charmer churches are literally poisoning these people’s minds.

[Passages]

8. Criminal imo.

[kiranon]

60. Why aren't the parents prosecuted for child endangerment, cruelty and neglect? n/t

[Johonny]

27. I think 100 years ago childhood death was so common

That they'd listen to any doctor that offered vaccines, vitamin K etc...

The modern world has created an arrogance of ignorance.

[Passages]

28. I think you're correct..it is worse now due to the lack of trust.

[hatrack]

10. It's not the will of Gaw-duh, you murdering fucks . . .

It's you, in your role as "parents".

Jesus wept . . .

[yardwork]

12. He thinks hospitals make money from vaccines?

That's so sad. Nobody makes money from vaccines. Without government subsidies the pharmaceutical companies will stop making vaccines. Millions will die.

This is the biggest self-own in human history.

[Passages]

17. Exactly.

[llmart]

41. I'm confused by the stances these idiots take and why.

Which is it you stupid fucks? God's will or the money you think hospitals are getting rich off of? Which do you worship more? God or your money?

I just can't even deal with the level of stupidity some people have.

[Abolishinist]

62. The cost of a vaccine vs. the (economic) cost of what they caused.

"Desperate to save them, records show, doctors inserted tubes into their airways and hooked them up to IVs. They ordered blood transfusions. They spent half an hour trying to resuscitate one boy until his parents told them they could stop. They shaved another boy’s soft locks to embed a needle directly into his skull to reduce the pressure in his brain.

Gee, I wonder how much the hospital made off of their ignorance?

[tanyev]

14. I figured some of the parents would just blame the doctors or hospital.

[yardwork]

18. They do. They go into hospitals and clinics and start physically attacking people.

The disinformation is so extreme, people think doctors and nurses are killing their loved ones.

This started under Trump term one, with COVID disinformation and it has accelerated since.

[Delphinus]

51. Jeezus!

"They lost out on all the money from that" - what? WHAT?

What do they think their god will do when they see him? Say, good job?!

I can't even find the words right now to express my sadness, rage, horror ... that Dad could go and be with the baby right now.

[Joinfortmill]

59. Don't think that's who you're gonna be meeting, bud.

[Javaman]

64. Then the father took a long hit on his crack pipe

These people are fucked and should be charged with child abuse

[magicarpet]

9. What is the reason driving the parents to allow this to happen ?

Is it a desire to leave things be, letting G-d's Devine Plan run his intended course of action, devoid of any human interventions or interruptions what so ever ? Thinking man has no right to second guess our Sky Daddy up in the heavens ?

Or did RFKJr. scare the shit out of these parents with his gobbledygook and jibber-jabber that all children's vaccines are laced with mercury as a preservative and this is the cause for the current alarming increase and rise of childhood Autism ?

Not all science is bad,... Not all science is our enemy. Hucksters of crazy ideas and know nothings should not be running our government. Where does the Dotard - who shits his pants - find them all ?

[Passages]

11. A composite? I imagine many issues that culminate with deep doubts that lead to tragedy.

I don't know, but I will say this article scared me for America.

[UpInArms]

16. If they don't believe in science

They should give up the computers and cellphones, because without science, they would not exist.

Then, they would, at least, lose access to the evil fakebook

[Alice Kramden]

20. It's part of the anti-vax disinformation

Even though vitamin K is not a vaccine

[magicarpet]

24. Oops,... "Inoculations" - to increase the health and well being of children.

[mountain grammy]

43. Their preachers...

[magicarpet]

45. .... so right,...

Amen.

[Hey Joe]

46. Many of these people are controlled by an

algorithm consisting of disinformation and rage bait aimed towards things they are too intellectually incapable or incurious to understand.
Social media is turning out to be one of the most damaging aspects of our daily lives and too many people fall victim to the hate and lies that,
one way or another, destroy them.

[NoMoreRepugs]

13. The fact these people walk among us and have children makes me sad.

[Passages]

15. Unimaginable that this occurs. Never had to happen.

[biocube]

19. I had someone tell me once that these vitamins aren't extracted from plants and are instead made in labs...

...and are somehow different. Chemophobia is the real poison.

[mwmisses4289]

21. Has any one pointed out to these morons, many of whom seem to belong to those evangelical type churches,

that maybe their "god" allowed the development of these various life saving vaccines and medicines so they and their children would be around to annoy us "evil, dam libruls" with their version of god's word? When they refuse, they are falling into satan's hands.
Or maybe when they refuse this, it's their deities way of showing they are unfit for the blessing of a child.

[magicarpet]

47. ... maybe it is indeed G-d's Plan that they not be allowed or encouraged to contaminate

... the human gene pool with their quiverfull and proliferous ways of pro creations ?

[FakeNoose]

22. Here's the point of the essay (from the OP link)

Their autopsies, which took place over the last several years, all came to the same conclusion: The deaths were caused, in whole or in part, by a rare but potentially fatal condition known as vitamin K deficiency bleeding.

In almost every case, the babies’ deaths could have been prevented with a long-standard vitamin K shot. But across the country, families — first in smatterings, now in droves — are declining the single, inexpensive injection given at birth to newborns to help their blood clot.

Many of them are doing so out of a well-meaning but ill-informed abundance of caution. In the hopes of safeguarding their newborns from what they see as unnecessary medical intervention, they have shunned fundamental and scientifically sound pharmaceutical intervention. The trend is also fueled by a contradictory pairing: families’ fierce desire to protect their babies and a cascade of false information infused into their social media algorithms.

Although it is not a vaccine, the vitamin K shot has been swept up in the same post-pandemic tide that has led to a drop in key childhood vaccines, including for measles and whooping cough.

- more at link -

I believe expectant parents should be prevented from accessing social media of any kind. It's just too dangerous.

[Alice Kramden]

23. Ignorant anti-vax parents causing their own babies' deaths

Refusing the standard medical protocols for newborns - a terrible and deadly stance.

From the article:

The vitamin K shot is one of the three main interventions, along with the hepatitis B vaccine and an antibiotic ointment in the eyes, that newborns typically receive before leaving the hospital. Leading American institutions and the World Health Organization recommend that newborns get the shot.

In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped recommending that all newborns get the hepatitis B vaccine, which has been highly effective at fighting a virus that can lead to lifelong infections and liver cancer ... Some families are also rejecting the eye ointment.

[Passages]

69. It is hard to comprehend, none of these tragic consequences ever had to happen.

Vitamins equate with poison, medicine equates with poison.

[70sEraVet]

25. When doctors, scientists, and teachers are seen as the bad guys.....

there's nobody to complain when the government starts rounding them up.
Fascism is dependent on an ignorant working class.

[Diamond_Dog]

26. As a parent, I cannot in any way, shape, or form, understand why these idiots risk their own

flesh and blood to die when there is proven science to support their babies’ lives and well being.

[Sympthsical]

29. Dr. Facebook OB/GYN has caused a lot of problems

I know people are focusing on the religious yokels and RFK Jr. - and well they should, particularly when it comes to vaccines - but L&D doctors and nurses are combating a whole slew of "natural health" gobbeldy gook particularly surrounding pregnancy and birth. The shit they have to deal with, because expectant parents "read something online".

Go look up what free birth is and enjoy that one.

Just finished my OB rotation here in the Bay Area a few weeks back, and oh yeah, many new parents had opinions sourced to this or that social media platform or tiktok/youtube/twitter influencers.

The Vitamin K thing is an interesting one, because it feels like there's the least education around it. At least with vaccines you can chalk it up to disinformation. But parents are at least familiar with vaccines and antibiotics. You start explaining that Vitamin K shot, and sometimes there's this idea it's some kind of toxic chemical we just want to pump into a baby willy nilly.

I had a moment with a new mom where were discussing it and made a joke about how you can't even get me to eat kale, so it's not something I'd want to inflict on a newborn. No one's introduction to this world should involve kale. She was fine with the shot generally, but she did have misgivings/questions. Which is fine. But man, I really hate Dr. Facebook.

[LisaL]

32. Well now you can show them this article.

It sounds like it should be helpful.

[Sympthsical]

40. Right?

[Passages]

33. Great points, thank you.

Dr Facebook is right, and all the other pseudoscience researchers.

[VMA131Marine]

30. I wonder how many of these parents who decline the Vitamin K shot ...

… are stuffing themselves with “health” supplements of dubious value made by an industry that rivals “Big Pharma” in size and is almost totally unregulated.

[Passages]

31. Very good question, how is their health and by what means do they care for themselves.

[Johnny2X2X]

35. These people are insane!

They think hospitals make money on vaccinations.

[GiqueCee]

36. YO! Moron parents who doom their infants by their stupidity...

... can you say, "NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE"?

[Passages]

37. Great question Possibly, and why I stated we have a long list of issues to fix. I should probably add this to the OP.

Last edited Wed May 6, 2026, 11:08 AM - Edit history (1)

2025 Feb 20;17(2):e79368. doi: 10.7759/cureus.79368

The Legality of Vitamin K Refusal in the United States

Avrohom Levy 1,✉, Shira Nabatian 2
Editors: Alexander Muacevic, John R Adler

Conclusions
Vitamin K prophylaxis is a simple, safe, and life-saving intervention that has significantly reduced the incidence of VKDB in newborns. However, parental refusal, often influenced by misinformation and distrust in the medical system, creates a public health concern. Ironically, the very success of Vitamin K supplementation in preventing VKDB may contribute to the problem, as many parents remain unaware of its critical role. A concerted governmental effort is needed to track Vitamin K refusal and VKDB cases, whether at the state or national levels. Improved data collection would help quantify the extent of the issue, providing the necessary foundation for legislation aimed at preventing VKDB.

The reluctance to intervene in Vitamin K refusal raises an important ethical question: How much avoidable risk to a child is too much to ignore? In cases like untreated leukemia, the certainty of death without treatment compels authorities to intervene. Yet, when it comes to preventive measures like Vitamin K, the absence of immediate danger should not diminish the obligation to protect vulnerable children. Consider car seat laws - while most car trips do not end in accidents, the potential for harm is significant enough to justify mandatory restraints. If society accepts car seat regulations as a means to safeguard children from preventable harm, why isn't Vitamin K supplementation viewed in a similar way? Addressing these issues requires a multifaceted approach, including provider education, public health initiatives, and potential legal frameworks to ensure newborns receive this essential preventive measure. Moving forward, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and public health organizations must work together to combat misinformation, strengthen advocacy, and reinforce the necessity of Vitamin K administration to safeguard infant health.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11929546/#abstract1

[GiqueCee]

54. Nailed it...

... I wonder if undiagnosed Oppositional Defiant Disorder could account for some of the bad decisions made by some parents. I've had some experience with ODD in my own family, where a demonstrably bad, and potentially dangerous, decision has been stubbornly defended even in the face of irrefutable proof of its assured negative outcome.
We're certainly seeing it on a daily, nay, HOURLY, basis with the increasingly warped behavior of our mentally unsound president, and a terrifyingly large percentage – one could justifiably say – ALL of his cabinet members.

[Passages]

56. It is possible, to what degree who knows, but a valid consideration re: human behavior in the US.

It's as if, for some, they fell off a cliff!

[angrychair]

38. Absolutely insane

Everything just feels off. I honestly am confused. When did humanity collectively become this ignorant and submissive?

It's truly shocking. You watch a movie like Idiocracy and Star Trek and think "gee, I want that Star Trek life, that sounds like that better way to go", and it seems we are headed that way.
But we suddenly, inexplicably, go the other way and embrace Idiocracy.

[Sympthsical]

42. Social media

It's social media. Used to be the idiot population was diluted, so the kind of damage they could cause was mitigated to some extent.

Now they can find each other, coalesce, and advocate for stupid in ways never previously imagined.

Dumb Ass Phil at the coffee shop was at least known as Dumb Ass Phil locally and generally able to be ignored. Now DAP has 10,000 friends just like him online that he talks to daily.

And sometimes they go on campaigns.

[Passages]

48. I found this report depressing. The ignorance behind it shocked me.

[Turbineguy]

39. trump and his merry men.

It's an extinction event.

[Passages]

49. Yes. Their own special type of pestilence.

[mainer]

44. My friend's newborn bled in the UK

He survived but with brain damage, and spent the rest of his life in an institution.
This was over 50 years ago, before Vit K was routinely given to newborns. Her tragedy was one of the reasons the UK started routinely giving Vit K to all newborns.

[Passages]

50. What a horrendous price to pay, poor thing.

[3catwoman3]

52. This is so f&cking stupid I can't even find words for it.

It's most unfortunate that the only "skill" required to become a parent is the ability to juxtapose genitalia.

[Passages]

53. It is near impossible to comprehend. To prevent harm, how did that become a threat??

[Wednesdays]

55. "...doctors inserted tubes into their airways and hooked them up to IVs...blood transfusions...resuscitation..."

But a vitamin shot is a no-go?

[Passages]

57. Surreal, I know.

[Joinfortmill]

58. Killing their own children. Depraved

[ShazzieB]

61. There's a huge epidemic of stupid going on in this country, and little children are suffering because of it.

Last edited Thu May 7, 2026, 01:35 AM - Edit history (2)

"The trend is also fueled by a contradictory pairing: families’ fierce desire to protect their babies and a cascade of false information infused into their social media algorithms."

You know these same people are also refusing vaccines, and some of those diseases are going to come roaring back and kill even more kids. Some of these nuts have stopped vaccinating their pets, too. Distrust of all forms of science is causing people to lose their damned minds.

I reminded of the words to a song:

Bless the beasts and the children,
For in this world they have no voice,
They have no choice.

[SCantiGOP]

63. Pro Publica is a wonderful

It’s the only news source I regularly contribute to.
Their content is free on the Internet.

[Passages]

70. Yep, phenomenal investigating reports.

[OldBaldy1701E]

65. Very, Very, VERY long. (n/t)

[SamuelAdams]

66. This should be much bigger news.

All Americans need to be warned about the deadly consequences of listening to Trump and RFK, Jr.

[Passages]

71. I agree. We have to address this as a public safety failure and ensure more parents

understand it is safe.

[Jack Valentino]

67. Darwin award winners! If they're too stupid to accept a vitamin shot for the babies,

maybe it is better if they don't reproduce. Natural selection at work here.

[HighFired49]

68. Pre-screen the parents

If I were a OB dr., I think that I would prescreen all of my expecting parents. Give them all of the information of the birthing process and standard procedures, including all of the medicines, treatments, etc., and their reasons for use, and all of the possible consequences of refusing treatments. Have them sign a form stating that they have been given all of the information, and that they agree to all of the standard procedures. If the parents don't understand, or disagree, explain it all again. If they still object, tell them to find another physician.

[yardwork]

73. Some pediatricians are doing this.

If parents won't vaccinate their children the practices are stopping them as patients.

[Para722]

72. Tragic

This started years ago with the whole autism caused by vaccine crowd and went into overdrive during covid. We saw it first hand all these non believers in science tying up hospital beds and ICU and vents because they “did their research”
They should have a clause that if you refuse these treatments that have been overwhelming proven to work over multiple decades of use then you foot the bill for you family if something goes wrong.
Just like they did when COVID was super bad and exclusion criteria and triaging were contemplating who would get a vent if they needed 2 and only had 1. (If anyone remembers the sorry antivaxer website) full of the Facebook timelines about their immune system and it’s only cold and prayer and then finally the family throwing up requests for gofundme and prayer warriors
My oldest is currently about to be a college student working towards becoming a pathologist and we tell her she is gonna see diseases we got rid of , polio and measles and now this idiocy.
Ok rant over sorry it’s grammatically a mess but I’m in a car trying not to bash my head against the steering wheel about these people. Just like the one on news who has CPS looking at her for not doing chemo on her kid with a cancer that’s 95% curable