evidence: Benefits of Vitamin K Shot at Birth The vitamin K shot is essentially a preventative measure. While there’s no guarantee that low levels of vitamin K will be a problem for your baby, internal bleeding — especially brain bleeds — can be devastating. [...] Newborns who do not get their vitamin K shot at birth are 81 times more likely to get late-onset vitamin K deficiency bleeding than babies who do get the shot. Vitamin K shots for newborns are extremely safe and highly recommended for all newborn babies. If you skip the shot and your baby gets a brain bleed, by the time symptoms emerge it may be too late.