What is the purpose of administering vitamin K to newborns?

• A. This drug is given to prevent hypoglycemia
• B. Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin and promotes a positive nutritional status.
• C. This drug is given to the newborn to prevent and/or treat hemorrhagic disease.
• D. Vitamin K is produced and stored in the liver, which is immature in the infant.

Answer: (C)

Vitamin K is given to newborns primarily to prevent hemorrhagic disease that can occur when a baby is vitamin K deficient. At birth, infants have very low stores of vitamin K, their gut is sterile so it cannot yet produce enough vitamin K, and the liver is immature, which limits the newborn’s ability to synthesize clotting factors on its own. Vitamin K is essential for activating the clotting factors II, VII, IX, and X, so providing it directly ensures proper blood coagulation and protects against dangerous bleeding in the first weeks of life. It’s not about preventing hypoglycemia or about general nutritional status; the main goal is to prevent or treat hemorrhagic disease of the newborn.