ABSTRACT
Vitamin K is vital for the production of several blood clotting factors made by the liver. Deficiency or insufficiency of vitamin K in new-born babies can lead to haemorrhage: haemorrhagic disease of the new-born. This can be spontaneous but harmless, for example, resulting in bleeding from the umbilical stump (the tummy button) when the umbilical cord falls off around 10-14 days. However, if bleeding occurs in the head this is potentially extremely serious. Most babies who have thus suffered have either died or been left with major neurological damage.
