Sociodemographic factors associated with antenatal steroid use among late preterm births

Abstract

In 2016, the Antenatal Late Preterm Steroid (ALPS) Trial demonstrated the benefit of antenatal steroids in reducing respiratory morbidity among late preterm singleton births ("LPB," 34-36 weeks of gestation).1 Prior studies have shown that this trial and its dissemination resulted in increased steroid use in the late preterm period; however, adoption was not uniform, with regional variation noted throughout the US.2-4 As the risk of preterm birth is known to vary widely by maternal characteristics and providers are encouraged to engage in shared decision-making around its use,5,6 we aimed to determine if antenatal steroid exposure among LPBs also varied based on sociodemographic characteristics.