Preterm delivery is a major cause of death and illness in infants.
Corticosteroid treatment of pregnant women at risk for delivering prematurely was first introduced in 1972 to enhance fetal lung maturation. Subsequent research has focused on the ability of prenatal glucocorticoids to reduce mortality and brain injury among preterm neonates. In 1994, a NIH consensus panel 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 NIH has organized this 1 day conference to present research on repeat courses of antenatal corticosteroid therapy.