Background. Administration of antenatal corticosteroids to pregnant mothers is one of the most effective interventions to decrease preterm neonatal mortality. In this study we assessed antenatal steroid utilization by the mother and its effect on preterm babies. Method. Two years prospective, multicenter, observational study was conducted in selected hospitals of Ethiopia. Significance of the study outcomes was tested by chi-square and binary logistic regression. Result. Out of 4919 participants, 1575 preterm babies whose gestational ages were below 35 weeks were included in the study. Use of antenatal dexamethasone was 37.5% among study participants. The risk of early onset neonatal sepsis 235 (40.4%) was higher in preterm babies whose mother took antenatal dexamethasone (P-value .002) than those who did not. Conclusion. Antenatal dexamethasone use in our study was comparable with other low and middle-income countries. Risk of early onset neonatal sepsis was higher among infants whose mother took antenatal dexamethasone.
Keywords: dexamethasone; neonatal morbidity; neonatal mortality; preterm birth.
© The Author(s) 2021.