Fetal and Neonatal Outcomes After Term and Preterm Delivery Following Betamethasone Administration

(Abstracted from Int J Gynaecol Obstet, 130:64–69, 2015) Experimental evidence from animal models demonstrated that prenatal administration of synthetic glucocorticoids, at serial doses for a period of weeks, may maximize surfactant production and lung maturation for preterm fetuses and, in turn, potentially reduce risk of adverse neonatal outcome in preterm births. However, there is still ongoing discussion regarding dose, type of steroid, treatment interval, and validation of neonatal benefits.