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Steroids beneficial for Cesarian Deliveries

Steroids given before deliveries are known to reduce the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature babies, especially born 34 weeks or below. It was not known or proven however, if the same is true for babies born under cesarian section but at full term. So, a group of medical experts from the Antenatal Steroids for Term Elective Cesarian Section (ASTECS) Research Team conducted a study to further determine if steroids is beneficial for term elective cesarian section deliveries. The study enrolled first time mothers who will be undergoing delivery through cesarian section.

Betamethasone was injected twice to the mothers 48 hours before their scheduled delivery with 24 hours interval. The group was composed of mothers with pregnancies at 37 weeks’ gestation and beyond. They then employed radiologists to assess the chest radiograph results of the babies. It was found that those with respiratory distress syndrome and did not receive steroid injections were significantly higher than those who received the drug. In fact, incidence is twice as much as in the treatment group. Furthermore, babies whose mothers did not receive the drug were observed to stay longer in the neonatal intensive care unit.

The researchers concluded that antenatal steroids given 48 hours prior to cesarian delivery at term is indeed beneficial to the newborns as it lowers the incidence of RDS and even transient tachypnea or rapid breathing.

From The American Academy of Family Physicians:

“Administration of antenatal steroids 48 hours before elective cesarean delivery at 37 weeks’ gestation reduced the risk of transient tachypnea of the newborn and respiratory distress requiring prolonged hospital care. The benefit of steroids persists until 39 weeks’ gestation. Further studies in other hospital settings with longer follow-up periods will be needed before this protocol becomes the standard of care. (Level of Evidence: 1b)”

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