Postnatal Corticosteroids for Preterm Infants — Do What We Say, Not What We Do

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Abstract
Physicians caring for pregnant women and their preterm infants have used corticosteroids since Liggins and Howie reported in 1972 that prenatal betamethasone decreased the incidence of the respiratory distress syndrome and increased the survival of preterm infants.1 This infatuation with corticosteroids is not unique to perinatal medicine; corticosteroids have been used for almost every human disease for which there is no effective therapy. Despite an astounding number of randomized, controlled trials of corticosteroids in perinatal medicine, we remain uncertain about their appropriate use. The Cochrane Review of 18 trials of prenatal corticosteroids demonstrated compelling benefits for infants delivered before 32 . . .