BMJ  2005;331 (24 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7518.0-a

Antenatal steroids reduce respiratory distress in babies

Antenatal steroids and delaying delivery until 39 weeks reduce respiratory distress in babies born by elective caesarean section. Stutchfield and colleagues (p 662) randomised nearly 1000 women from 10 maternity units in Wales to receive two intramuscular doses of 12 mg of betamethasone 48 hours before delivery or to get usual care. Fewer children from mothers who had had betamethasone were admitted to a special care baby unit with respiratory distress. The rate of such admission fell with increasing gestation, supporting the recommendation to delay elective section until 39 weeks.

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Antenatal betamethasone and incidence of neonatal respiratory distress after elective caesarean section: pragmatic randomised trial

Peter Stutchfield, Rhiannon Whitaker, Ian Russell on behalf of the Antenatal Steroids for Term Elective Caesarean Section (ASTECS) Research Team
BMJ 2005 331: 662. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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