Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Mar;119(3):555-9.
doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31824758f6.

Effect of antenatal corticosteroids on respiratory morbidity in singletons after late-preterm birth

Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman  1 , Sharon Gilbert, Mark B Landon, Catherine Y Spong, Dwight J Rouse, Michael W Varner, Paul J Meis, Ronald J Wapner, Yoram Sorokin, Marshall Carpenter, Alan M Peaceman, Mary J O'Sullivan, Baha M Sibai, John M Thorp, Susan M Ramin, Brian M Mercer; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health; Human Development (NICHD) Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network (MFMU)
Collaborators, Affiliations

Effect of antenatal corticosteroids on respiratory morbidity in singletons after late-preterm birth

Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2012 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether neonates born to women who previously had received antenatal corticosteroids and then delivered a late-preterm-birth neonate had less respiratory morbidity compared with those not exposed to antenatal corticosteroids.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis from a multicenter observational study regarding mode of delivery after previous cesarean delivery. We compared women who received one course of antenatal corticosteroids with unexposed parturients and evaluated various respiratory outcomes among those having a singleton, late-preterm-birth neonate. We controlled for potential confounders including gestational age at delivery, diabetes, mode of delivery, and maternal race.

Results: Five thousand nine hundred twenty-four patients met the inclusion criteria; 550 received steroids and 5,374 did not. In the univariable model, compared with unexposed women, those who received antenatal corticosteroids appeared more likely to have neonates who required ventilatory support (11.5% compared with 8.6%, P=.022), had respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (17.1% compared with 12.2%, P=.001), developed transient tachypnea of the newborn (12.9% compared with 9.8%, P=.020), or required resuscitation in the delivery room (55.8% compared with 49.7%, P=.007). After controlling for confounding factors, we found no significant differences among the groups regarding all of the above outcomes with an odds ratio for RDS of 0.78 (95% confidence interval, 0.60-1.02) and ventilator support of 0.75 (95% confidence interval, 0.55-1.03).

Conclusion: Exposure to antenatal corticosteroids does not significantly affect respiratory outcomes among those with a subsequent late-preterm birth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Financial Disclosure: The authors did not report any potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patients included in this study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Davidoff MJ, Dias T, Damus K, Russell R, Bettegowda VR, Dolan S, et al. Changes in the gestational age distribution among U.S. singleton births: impact on rates of late preterm birth, 1992 to 2002. Semin Perinatol. 2006 Feb;30(1):8–15. - PubMed
    1. Hamilton BEMJ, Ventura SJ. Births: Preliminary Data for 2007. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2009;57(12)
    1. Gynecologists ACoOa. Preterm birth. 1995 Jun; 1995.
    1. Yoder BA, Gordon MC, Barth WH., Jr Late-preterm birth: does the changing obstetric paradigm alter the epidemiology of respiratory complications? Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Apr;111(4):814–822. - PubMed
    1. Raju TN, Higgins RD, Stark AR, Leveno KJ. Optimizing care and outcome for latepreterm (near-term) infants: a summary of the workshop sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Pediatrics. 2006 Sep;118(3):1207–1214. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding