Liggins and Howie showed that a single course of antenatal corticosteroid therapy administered to women at risk for preterm delivery (PTD) reduced the incidence and severity of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and mortality in offspring. But the use was limited till 34 weeks of pregnancy, now there is some hope for the steroid use beyond 34 weeks .
Randomized trials of antenatal corticosteroids administered 48 hours before planned cesarean delivery at ≥37 weeks of gestation found reductions in neonatal respiratory morbidity compared with placebo or no treatment: transient tachypnea of the newborn (3 versus 7 percent, respiratory distress syndrome (2.7 versus 6.7 percent, use of mechanical ventilation (0.7 versus 3.6 percent ,as well as reductions in time on oxygen, maximum inspired oxygen, and length of stay in the NICU. Neonatal hypoglycemia and long-term outcomes in offspring were…
