However, the panel concluded that current data do not support the routine use of repeat courses of this treatment.
Corticosteroids are hormones produced by the adrenal gland.
Synthesized corticosteroids, when given to pregnant women, accelerate the maturation of specific organs, including the lungs, in the fetus. In 1994, virtually the same panel that met today concluded, in part, that single course administration of corticosteroids to pregnant women at risk for preterm delivery reduces the risk of death, respiratory distress syndrome, and brain hemorrhage in their preterm infants. The 1994 panel noted, however, that the potential benefits and risks of administering more than one course of antenatal corticosteroids during a pregnancy were unknown and called for additional research on this issue. The conference was sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the NIH Office of Medical Applications of Research. Cosponsors included the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.