Complications of antenatal corticosteroids in infants born by early term scheduled cesarean section

Objective: To compare neonatal hypoglycemia and respiratory morbidity rates in pregnancies complicated by diabetes following early term scheduled cesarean section (ETSCS) with and without maternal corticosteroid administration. Research Design And Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, women with any form of diabetes in pregnancy undergoing ETSCS were included. Primary outcomes were admission rates to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)/transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) and/or neonatal hypoglycemia. Results: NICU admission rates for neonatal hypoglycemia were significantly higher (24.2% vs. 4.4%, P = 0.003) and RDS/TTN rates were nonsignificantly higher (15.2% vs. 7.2%, P = 0.209) following corticosteroid administration. Conclusions: Corticosteroids were not beneficial among women with any form of diabetes in pregnancy undergoing ETSCS and, indeed, may be harmful. In our hospital, we have ceased the use of corticosteroids for women under these circumstances.