Hemorrhagic disease of the newborn is a rare bleeding problem that can occur after birth. Hemorrhaging is excessive bleeding. It’s a potentially life-threatening condition.
The condition is caused by vitamin K deficiency. As a result, it’s often called vitamin K deficiency bleeding, or VKDB. Vitamin K plays a key role in blood clotting. Because vitamin K is not efficiently passed on from mother to baby in utero, most babies are born with low stores of this vitamin in their system.
VKDB is categorized according to the timing of first symptoms:
early onset occurs within 24 hours of birth
classic onset occurs within two to seven days
late onset occurs within two weeks to six months
It’s now common practice for neonatal physicians to give babies a shot of vitamin K-1, also called phytonadione, shortly after birth. This helps protect the newborn from VKDB.