Steroids (steroids), thanks to which premature babies develop better, may increase the risk of disorders such as ADHD, reports PLoS One.
Preterm babies – that is, babies born between 22 and 37 weeks of pregnancy – often experience health problems. Steroids – for example, dexamethasone – are given to pregnant women who are at risk of premature birth. This allows your baby’s lungs to develop faster, reducing the risk of serious breathing problems after birth.
Studies by specialists from Imperial College London and the University of Oulu (Finland) have shown that steroids can affect the developing brain, and babies whose mothers have been given them during pregnancy have a higher risk of attention deficit disorder – such as ADHD – by the age of eight.
At the age of 16, no such effect was found, which, however, could be due to the small number of children studied. The development of 37 premature infants whose mothers had been administered steroids and 185 children of the same weight and developmental age who had not received such treatment were compared.
According to experts, the discovery supports regular reviews. In the case of premature babies, giving up steroids would be dangerous to the health and life of the baby.
The causes of premature births have not yet been fully explained, it is known that they are caused by, for example, urinary tract infections, pre-eclampsia, problems with the placenta, obesity and gestational diabetes.
A test for the level of a protein – fetal fibronectin is used to predict premature labor. It usually appears in vaginal discharge around week 22 of pregnancy, then fades away and comes back towards the end of pregnancy. Fibronectin secretion after 22 weeks of pregnancy may indicate a risk of premature birth. Similarly, it is important to measure the hormone progesterone in saliva. (PAP)