Anabolic Steroids Blog - iSteroids . com » Steroids seem safe for premature babies

steroids-seem-safe-for-premature-babies As per a recent study supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development by Dr. Ronald Wapner, Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at New York City’s Columbia University, it was revealed that women at risk for preterm labor should not resist corticosteroid injections. However, repeated doses of steroids must be judiciously administered and not as per their will.

The study revealed that an expecting mother can be given steroid injections to accelerate the maturation of baby’s lungs. The effect, though not prolonged, can prove to be beneficial for the premature baby.

Dr. Wapner remarked that it was being found that babies with repeated doses of steroids needed less mechanical ventilation and showed signs of decreasing incidences of lung ailments.

From Bio-Medicine.Org:

“In our study, the babies with the highest number of repeated steroid injections — five or more — we found a non-significant but an increased risk of possible cerebral palsy,” said Dr. Ronald Wapner, director of maternal-fetal medicine at Columbia University in New York City.

That doesn’t mean women should forgo corticosteroid injections if they’re at risk for preterm labor, but repeated doses should be used judiciously, Wapner advised.

“One of the major advances in the health of the preterm neonate has come from giving the mother an injection of steroids to accelerate the maturation of the baby’s lungs,” he said. “But, the effects of that shot don’t last forever. The best guess is probably about seven days.”

Because the benefits of the shot don’t appear to last more than a week, many obstetricians started giving women at risk of delivering early repeated injections each week until they delivered. “It became a trend in this country, and women get course after course of steroids,” Wapner said.

But, he added, no one knew for sure what the exact benefits and hazards of those repeated doses might be.

It was also revealed in the study that multi-dose steroids can be beneficial to preterm babies but they must be administered in a judicious manner preceded by medical advice. Furthermore, careful information must be provided to the families by the medical fraternity so that they can easily understand the prospective benefits and risks associated with steroids.

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