Committee Opinion No. 713: Antenatal Corticosteroid Therapy for Fetal Maturation
Abstract
Corticosteroid administration before anticipated preterm birth is one of the most important antenatal therapies available to improve newborn outcomes. A single course of corticosteroids is recommended for pregnant women between 24 0/7 weeks and 33 6/7 weeks of gestation who are at risk of preterm delivery within 7 days, including for those with ruptured membranes and multiple gestations. It also may be considered for pregnant women starting at 23 0/7 weeks of gestation who are at risk of preterm delivery within 7 days, based on a family’s decision regarding resuscitation, irrespective of membrane rupture status and regardless of fetal number. Administration of betamethasone may be considered in pregnant women between 34 0/7 weeks and 36 6/7 weeks of gestation who are at risk of preterm birth within 7 days, and who have not received a previous course of antenatal corticosteroids. A single repeat course of antenatal corticosteroids should be considered in women who are less than 34 0/7 weeks of gestation who are at risk of preterm delivery within 7 days, and whose prior course of antenatal corticosteroids was administered more than 14 days previously. Rescue course corticosteroids could be provided as early as 7 days from the prior dose, if indicated by the clinical scenario. Continued surveillance of long-term outcomes after in utero corticosteroid exposure should be supported. Quality improvement strategies to optimize appropriate and timely antenatal corticosteroid administration are encouraged.
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The fitted global coupling coefficient indicates a substantial placental contribution to the maturation trajectory in this cohort.
“The fitted global coupling coefficient (k = 0.58; Table 1) indicated a substantial placental contribution to the maturation trajectory in this cohort, consistent with physiologic evidence that placental insufficiency can delay surfactant synthesis (16, 17).”
From Placenta-pulmonary coupling-guided multimodal AI for fetal lung maturity staging and individualized glucocorticoid therapy (2026) · cites this paper as [17]
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- Venue
- Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Published
- 2017-08
- Volume
- 130
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- e102-e109
- ISSN
- 0029-7844 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4234794804
- Semantic Scholar
- 6ca33df8697ce6721a57c1e0a2009c5e9ceae7ee
- Cited by
- 561
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 63 · 2025: 80 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 76 · 2022: 80 · 2021: 66 · 2020: 58 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 2 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 28.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Obstetrics and Gynecology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Neonatal Respiratory Health Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Infant Development and Preterm Care
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Preterm Birth and Chorioamnionitis
- Keywords
- antenatal corticosteroids, betamethasone, fetal lung maturation, preterm birth, preterm birth risk, membrane rupture, multiple pregnancy, neonatal outcomes, gestational age
- MeSH terms
- Adrenal Cortex Hormones, Betamethasone, Drug Administration Schedule, Female, Premature Rupture of Fetal Membranes, Fetal Membranes, Premature Rupture, Fetal Organ Maturity, Humans, Obstetrics, Pregnancy, Prenatal Care
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