A new study has revealed that fewer premature babies are dying, and it's all because of the more widespread use of steroids on women.
The study was conducted on 4,500 babies between 2000 and 2011, according to the Daily Mail. The study showed positive results since those born between 23 to 37 weeks gestation showed better chances of survival.
The research's chief author, Dr. Noelle Younge of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, said this can be credited to mothers having more access to steroids prescriptions. Because of this, women suffering from risky pregnancies can get their foetus to grow faster.
"At 23 weeks we did see an improvement over time," said Younge, who is a neonatologist and assistant professor of paediatrics at Duke.
Younge's group checked data from three periods — from 2000 to 2003, from 2004 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2011. They considered a typical pregnancy to last about 40 weeks, while babies born before 37 weeks are preterm. Those who are born much earlier, around 22 to 24 weeks, are considered to have the most serious neurological problem.
However, they discovered that the overall wellbeing of those who were born at 22 to 24 weeks showed a 4 percent improvement compared to the earliest study period, since their rate of survival without neurodevelopmental impairment actually improved.
Their death rate declined from 70 percent to 64 percent in 2011, and their impairment-free rates went up from 7 percent to 13 percent.
However, the research team warned that "there is likely to be substantial variation" in the long-term functioning of children.
"Although early neurodevelopmental assessment is important for the timely identification of children at risk for long-term neurologic impairment or developmental delay, its capacity to predict later functioning is limited," their study reads.
Meanwhile, a different study conducted by a team from The Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York blames polluted air for premature birth.
"In 2010, about 2.7 million preterm births globally — or 18 percent of all pre-term births — were associated with outdoor exposure to fine particulate matter," the study revealed, according to India Today. Other risk factors include the mother's age, illness, poverty, and other social factors.
