Use of Antenatal Corticosteroids for Risk of Preterm Birth—Is Timing Everything?

The administration of corticosteroids in women who are at risk for preterm birth is standard practice and considered “one of the most significant antenatal therapies available to improve newborn outcomes.” Antenatal corticosteroids accelerate fetal lung maturation and result in decreased perinatal death, neonatal death, and respiratory distress syndrome. Administration has also been demonstrated to reduce the risk of intraventricular hemorrhage and long-term developmental delays, although the level of evidence for these findings is lower.