Antenatal Steroids and the IUGR Fetus Are Exposure and Physiological Effects on the Lung and Cardiovascular System the Same as in Normally Grown Fetuses.pdfVIP

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Pregnancy Volume 2012, Article ID 839656, 15 pages doi:10.1155/2012/839656 Review Article Antenatal Steroids and the IUGR Fetus: Are Exposure and Physiological Effects on the Lung and Cardiovascular System the Same as in Normally Grown Fetuses? Janna L. Morrison,1 Kimberley J. Botting,1 Poh Seng Soo,1 Erin V. McGillick,1, 2 Jennifer Hiscock,1 Song Zhang,1 I. Caroline McMillen,1 and Sandra Orgeig2 1 Early Origins of Adult Health Research Group, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia 2 Molecular and Evolutionary Physiology of the Lung Laboratory, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia Correspondence should be addressed to Janna L. Morrison, janna.morrison@.au Received 2 April 2012; Accepted 6 September 2012 Academic Editor: Timothy Regnault Copyright © 2012 Janna L. Morrison et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Glucocorticoids are administered to pregnant women at risk of preterm labour to promote fetal lung surfactant maturation. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with an increased risk of preterm labour. Hence, IUGR babies may be exposed to antenatal glucocorticoids. The ability of the placenta or blood brain barrier to remove glucocorticoids from the fetal compartment or the brain is compromised in the IUGR fetus, which may have implications for lung, brain, and heart development.