Clinical Inquiries

What are the benefits/risks of giving betamethasone to women at risk of late preterm labor?

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References

RECOMMENDATIONS

Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine have published recommendations supporting corticosteroids for threatened late preterm delivery with certain caveats.4-6 Because of a lack of evidence, maternity care providers shouldn’t give corticosteroids for threatened late preterm delivery to women with multiple gestation, diabetes, previous exposure to steroids during pregnancy, or pregnancies with major nonlethal fetal malformations.4-6 Evidence doesn’t support tocolysis when steroids are given in the late preterm period.4,5

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