Preventative Interventions After Your Baby Is Born

janekbrainard
Nov 24, 2025
3 min read

After your precious baby is born and you have had your golden hour with them, your healthcare team will start performing routine newborn procedures. If you are in a hospital setting, these procedures typically include three preventative interventions: erythromycin eye ointment, vitamin K, and the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. This article will discuss what each of these interventions is intended to prevent.

Erythromycin Eye Ointment

Erythromycin is an antibiotic that can topically be applied to the eye. It is given to prevent "ophthalmia neonatorum" (ON), which is also known as neonatal conjunctivitis and commonly referred to as pink eye. ON is an infection that causes inflammation of a thin membrane that covers and protects the eye. It can be caused by viruses or bacteria, but erythromycin eye ointment is given specifically to target the bacteria that cause the sexually transmitted diseases chlamydia and gonorrhea. If the mother has untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea and gives birth vaginally, the infant is at a high risk of developing ON, which can lead to blindness.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is a vitamin that plays an important role in blood clotting. It activates certain molecules in our body that help blood to clot when necessary. Our bodies do not make Vitamin K; we get it from consuming leafy green vegetables and from bacteria that reside in our intestinal tracts. When babies are born, they have very low levels of Vitamin K. These levels do not mature until about 6 months of age when the baby starts to eat foods that contain Vitamin K.

Typically, a baby's blood can clot appropriately even with low levels of Vitamin K. However, if a baby's Vitamin K levels are too low, the baby is at risk for starting to bleed spontaneously. This is known as "vitamin K deficiency bleeding", or VKDB, and can be deadly. In order to prevent this, it is recommended to give babies a dose of vitamin K at birth, typically via an injection into the thigh muscle. The vitamin K injection is slowly released into the baby's body over several months, raising the baby's vitamin K levels during this time to help prevent spontaneous bleeding until the baby starts to consume vitamin K on their own.

Vitamin K can also be given orally, although this route of administration may not be as effective as an injection.

Hepatitis B Vaccine

Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection that is caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is transmitted through certain bodily fluids, including blood, and can be passed from a mother to her baby during birth due to the blood exchange that occurs during labor and delivery. This virus can also be transmitted through things such as unsterile needles or unprotected sex. Chronic infection can lead to liver failure, liver cancer, and death.

Administering the hepatitis B vaccine at birth is highly effective at preventing this infection in newborns who are born to mothers who have hepatitis B. This vaccine is recommended as a preventative measure for all mothers even if they do not think they have been exposed to the hepatitis B virus since adults with hepatitis B may not be aware that they have the infection.

Conclusion

While some states require that all newborns receive these preventative interventions, there are many states that allow parents to decline some or all of these interventions. If you are unsure if one or more of these interventions is necessary for your baby, be sure to have a discussion with your care provider about the risks and benefits of declining the intervention at one of your prenatal appointments.

References

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2025). Fact checked: Hepatitis B vaccine given to newborns reduces risk of chronic infection. https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/fact-checked/fact-checked-hepatitis-b-vaccine-given-to-newborns-reduces-risk-of-chronic-infection/?srsltid=AfmBOor85wiDgSTaKpXk5TU3U2Ml7GCDxDRsNZrPsvU9lqhkrDC4k66H
Evidence Based Birth. (2019). The evidence on: Erythromycin eye ointment for newborns. https://evidencebasedbirth.com/is-erythromycin-eye-ointment-always-necessary-for-newborns/
Evidence Based Birth. (2025). Evidence on: Vitamin K for newborns. https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-for-the-vitamin-k-shot-in-newborns/
Hepatitis B Foundation. (n.d.). What is hepatitis B? https://www.hepb.org/what-is-hepatitis-b/what-is-hepb/

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