How Can Respiratory Distress Syndrome Be Prevented?

You can do certain things to help ensure that your baby isn't born before his or her lungs have developed completely.

They include:

• Seeing your doctor regularly during your pregnancy
• Eating right
• Avoiding tobacco smoke, alcohol, and illegal drugs
• Controlling any ongoing medical conditions you have
• Preventing infection

Your doctor may give you injections of a corticosteroid medicine if it looks as though you may give birth too early. This medicine can speed up surfactant production and development of the lungs, brain, and kidneys in the fetus. Usually, within about 24 hours after you start taking the medicine, the fetus' lungs start making enough surfactant, and the baby's chances of developing respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) are reduced. If the baby does develop RDS, it will probably be relatively mild.

If you start taking this medicine at least 15 hours before you deliver, it also can reduce the chances that your baby will have any bleeding into the brain or develop necrotizing enterocolitis, a serious condition that affects the baby's intestines.