How Can Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia 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 also recommend that you take
progesterone if you had a prior preterm birth. This is a hormone that may help
delay delivery.
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 will work better. They also will respond
better to surfactant treatment so that
respiratory
distress syndrome will not develop after delivery, or it will be relatively
mild.
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