[Effect of repetitive prenatal corticosteroid medication on intrauterine growth and growth in early childhood].

Objective: The evaluation of the effects of repeated antenatal corticosteriod (CS) medication on birth size and size at the age of 4 years.

Methods: 82 children exposed to CS initially between 26 and 28 weeks of gestation were matched with 82 controls of the same gestational age and sex.

Results: No differences were observed between the CS and control groups with regard to weight, head circumference, and length at birth and at the age of 4 years.

Conclusions: Our study failed to demonstrate that repetitive antenatal medication with CS in order to induce lung maturation has a negative impact on intrauterine growth and growth in early childhood.