CONCLUSION
Antenatal corticosteroids exposure is associated with an increased risk
of severe hypoglycaemia in term neonates, particularly where ACS are
given prior to planned caesarean birth. An association also remains in
neonates exposed much earlier in the pregnancy, but hypoglycaemia
becomes less common with increasing time interval to birth. Better
identification of pregnancies where preterm birth will occur within 7
days is required. Nearer term, neonatal hypoglycaemia might cause more
long term harm than the respiratory morbidity that corticosteroids
reduce and better long term data is required before ACS usage after 34
weeks is universally offered.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank the women, midwives, neonatal and
obstetric colleagues for their help with this study.
DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS The authors declare no conflicts of
interest.