Can I Take Steroid During Pregnancy?

You must know steroids as an illegal drug to build muscles and to gain power, and performance. In reality, there are several areas where these drugs have been proven useful such as asthma treatment, hormone development, pregnancy complications, and much more.

In 1972, doctors got a breakthrough in drug discovery when they found out that steroids can delay childbirth. It clearly meant that the drug could be used for the women who were at risk for premature delivery. Since then the majority of Steroids UK specialists have been experimenting continuously to find out the possible use of the drug during pregnancy. 

Steroid For Pregnancy: Benefits

A baby who is born before a complete 37 weeks cycle is called a premature baby. According to a report, every 2 out of 10 babies born are premature. Generally, these babies are born with respiratory issues and are at huge risk of death. 

Not only steroids can delay pregnancy, but they can also minimize the risk in the newborn and reduce the respiratory problems and severity in a newborn baby. 

Here are some advantages of using Steroid for Pregnancy:

Reduce the Chances of Necrotic Enterocolitis

A newborn is generally born with several diseases and Necrotic Enterocolitis is one of them. It’s an infectious disease that can be hard to trace and requires immediate attention. 

After several tests, doctors have found out that if a balanced dose of Steroids is given to the mother before delivery, the chances of the baby having Necrotic enterocolitis is almost 50% less. 

Decrease the Risk of Intraventricular Hemorrhage

intraventricular hemorrhage is a common disease amongst newborns where the baby may suffer from internal bleeding inside the brain. This happens due to soft blood vessels and irregular blood pressure in the babies. The babies born with intraventricular hemorrhage may also experience slow physical growth.

A controlled amount of antenatal steroids can reduce the chances of intraventricular hemorrhage by 40-45%. 

Respiratory Distress

Respiratory distress is one of the most common problems found in newborn babies. This can cause serious trouble in breathing which may eventually lead to the death of the baby. 

The steroid, given to the mother before delivery can control the respiratory problems in babies by up to 35%. These drugs can strengthen a baby’s lungs and improve the structural maturity of the lungs, allowing the baby to breathe properly.

High Survival Rate of Newborn

Delivering a healthy baby is difficult enough, let alone the premature one. They are exposed to several diseases which are difficult to treat, increasing the chance of death. 

Steroids can increase the chance of survival by up to 30% by reducing the risk of several dangerous diseases including respiratory concerns.

Precautions

However, if you are consuming steroids during pregnancy, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

For the Mother

Although there is no recorded case of any serious side-effect of antenatal steroids in pregnant women, in some cases there was an increment of 30% in white blood cells after a few hours of the dose. 

Now, this doesn’t count as a major concern but due to the increased white cell count, the diagnoses can be tricky if there are any infections whatsoever. 

Also, there are some rare cases of pulmonary edema which may result in serious breathing problems if not attended to instantly. 

For the Baby

In premature babies, there haven’t been any substantial side effects apart from an increased blood flow and a slower heart rate but it was well under control.