Steroid injections at 36 weeks to boost baby lung development - panicking am I doing the right thing?

[Foreverexhausted]

Posting for traffic as I'm having a 4am can't sleep/so worried night/am I doing the right thing?

Just turned 36 weeks pregnant, caesarian is booked for 38 weeks due to transverse lie. Had consultant appt yesterday at 36+1 and growth has slowed so have a follow up appt next week with a view to letting pregnancy continue until booked caesarian at 38 weeks but if necessary delivering at 37 weeks.

Consultant recommended having two steroid injections to help mature baby's lungs, first given yesterday and next one 24 hours later. I'm now really really panicking that I've done the right thing.

I asked if there would be any side effects or risks for baby and was told no but I'm since googled and found research these injections are linked to mental health problems and ADHD later in life!

Anyone have experience of these injections?

I have section booked for 38 weeks and am having steroids first. From my reading the risks of ADHD have only been shown in earlier premature babies and it’s hard to separate the effect of the steroids from prematurity in this case. The risk of breathing problems in a newborn outweighs the theoretical risk of ADHD in my opinion so I’m happy to go ahead with them.

You must have the injections. When I had my c section there was another woman on the ward who hadnt bothered to go to her injection appointments and the surgeon actually refused to do her planned c section. She had to come back 3 says later having had the injections. At term baby should have well developed lungs but the steroids are really important on the off chance that they need a little bit of help. As the surgeon explained to that woman, regardless of anything it's really important that baby can breath properly and isn't left with life long respiratory issues or at risk of death. I've had the injections and when they're in your bum you don't even really feel them. I personally had no side effects although I can't speak to DD in adulthood as she's only 14 weeks.

I mean, the possibility that your baby won’t be able to breathe or process oxygen is surely more important that a treatable condition later in life? Get baby born, healthy and home. Stop googling!

I had to have the injections as my daughter had to be delivered early due to poor growth.
She's now nearly 4 with absolutely no issues.
Have the injections.

I was put on steroids when I was 5 months pregnant because I had pneumonia so I think you'll both be fine. The DC in question is now 12!

38 weeks? Steroid injections? Why? I had 3 children born at 37 weeks and 38 weeks and was never offered them. It seems strange that they are considered term at 37 weeks so why are they giving steroids?

Please don’t worry , I had to have these at 30wks when diagnosed with pre eclampsia , managed to get to 35wk with IUGR, emergency c section , No ICU for baby due to having the steroid injections.
He only weighed 4lb 8 !
Worse side effect was that they hurt you like bugger, I can still remember the pain !
17years later and he is a big strapping young man no problems what so ever. Best decision that the consultants could have made, who knows what the outcome would have been .
They only have the best interests for you and the baby , good luck

Thank you SO much everyone x

I was given the injection within minutes of it being discussed with me so agreed to it based solely on their reassurance that there wouldn't be any risks to baby.

theselegswermad - I had an IUGR baby at 35w 3 days too.
She was only 4lb 2 ounces! She had no breathing issues, which I'm presuming the steroids helped with.

Stripycreature we are both so lucky , yes was told it was due to steroids that baby was able to breath, I rember he actually scored better then my 2nd that was born at 38wks with no complications!

It seems strange that they are considered term at 37 weeks so why are they giving steroids?

OP is only 36/40 and says there are growth issues - they wouldn’t usually give them at 38 weeks but she might end up delivering earlier than that, and the baby might be small.

OP I had them and DS is perfectly fine. As a PP mentioned, prematurity is a risk factor for ADHD so unless the studies have controlled for that it’s likely those findings are flawed.

I had a quick check and found this massive Danish cohort study from last year:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/28947451/?i=5&from=corticosteroids%20adhd

Which was specifically looking for a link and didn’t find one. If you would find it helpful/reassuring, I’m more than happy to look at the studies you’ve found and tell you if they are reliable or not.

theselegswermad - wow so you really saw the difference steroids can make!

adviceonthepox current recommendations are to give steroids prior to planned sections before 39 weeks. It seems that a small proportion of babies at this gestation haven’t developed sufficient lung maturation to manage to breathe independently. It’s different if labouring naturally before that time, it seems labour itself ensures the final step in lung developmen.

I had them with both my daughters for section at 36-37 weeks both are fine , I was red and got feeling for a few days , the risk of lungs being not developed isn’t a chance most obstetricians are willing to take .

Also c section babies aren’t squeezed through the birth canal to remove secretions from lungs so need the steroids of early to reduce risk oof breathing difficulties as immature lungs would struggle more .

i’m a researcher. we don’t know what causes adhd and many mental health problems. So big studies are run lookung at mathematical likelihoods of things appearing together - line steroid injections and adhd. however, a lot of steroid injections are for vabies who are very premature with extremely stressfull births and early lifes for parent and child. NICU, HDU, medication, surgery, traumatsed parents are all more likely in thus group - because a lot of very early born babie, or babies with health cobditions are in there. all a lot more likely to be behind the increased numbers of adhd and mental health issues than the steroids!

I had the steroids when my son was born early because he was too big - ended up 10lbs and 67cm long at 36 weeks, if he'd gone to 42 weeks like his brother he would have been enormous!

The alternative was to end up like my brother in the 80s - exactly the same, born early by ELCS because of size, fluid in the lungs which never came out so he was in intensive care with infections, chronic pneumonia, serious breathing difficulties for many years and on nebulisers twice a day at home through my whole childhood. At the time it was just "one of those things", they thought he had cystic fibrosis or genetic issues until it cleared up many years later but my consultant said that if he'd been born today the steroids would have been given to prevent that (and incidentally changed the whole course of my family's life!)

My very premature babies had it...was told it saved their lives

Wow so very naive replies here. My baby was born by emcs at 36 weeks, he came out not breathing, had to be resuscitated and spent two weeks in nicu simply because he wasn’t ready to come out - as I didn’t have any signs of labour there was nothing to prepare him. All down to his lungs not being ready. I wish to god I’d had the chance for those steroids as I can only imagine the difference they would have made.

Op I hope everything goes well when the time comes

Asking questions like this on a public forum is far more dangerous than listening to the doctors who know you and your baby.

At best you might get non-evidenced anecdotes, at worst, complete lies, fabrications and misinformation from unknown people- not a good place to make decisions from

Never google ! They wouldn’t offer these if you didn’t need them my dear

Get off google , and get some
Sleep

Best of luck with it all

Hi, NICU nurse here. If they have advised the steroids then take them. They are very routine but make a big difference to speeding up lung development. If your baby is born by cold section without you labouring,then at 36 weeks there is a good chance your little one might need breathing assistance,even if only for a short time. Labour and vaginal birth squeezes out the fluid from the lungs and prepares a baby for breathing,unlike having a section when you're not in labour. Fingers crossed you will get closer to term and this will all be irrelevant,but having the steroids should help to ensure your baby doesn't need breathing support. Good luck!

Had my twins at 35+5, had the steroids twice during pregnancy. Both were fine after birth and didn't need SCBU.
They are both now 3rd year uni students and still fine.

I had them at 31 weeks as I started contracting. DD was born at term plus seven, a whopping 10lb 5oz, is nearly ten years old now with absolutely no issues. Good luck xxxxx