Worries that applying topical steroids might put unborn children at risk are not justified, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital dermatologist Chi Ching-chi (紀景琪) said yesterday, adding that parents should only worry if they applied more than 300g over the course of the pregnancy.
Clinical statistics showed that about 17 percent of pregnant women experience an itchy skin, but in about half of the cases this is caused by eczema, Chi said.
Eczema denotes a group of medical conditions that cause the skin to become inflamed or irritated, typically causing itching and redness.
Topical steroids — creams, ointment and lotions that contain corticosteroids (steroids) — are the most common medicine for treating eczema and reducing skin inflammation, Chi said.
He said many pregnant women are worried about side effects of the medicine on their unborn baby, but enduring itchy or inflamed skin without getting proper treatment can also harm an expecting mother’s health.
A research team led by Chi analyzed data from 14 different studies — comprising data collected from more than 1.6 million pregnant women and their babies — to understand the possible side effects of the application of topical steroids by women during pregnancy.
“Our research shows that only applying more than 300g of high or ultra-high-potency topical steroids over the span of the pregnancy would increase health risks,” he said.
“Possible adverse side effects include a low birth weight,” Chi said, adding that if a pregnant woman applied more than 300g of high or ultra-high-potency topical steroids during pregnancy, the risk of giving birth to a baby with low birth weight would increase from 5 percent to 35 percent.
Furthermore, analysis also showed that applying topical steroids, even in high doses, during pregnancy did not cause increased rates of caesarean delivery, congenital malformation, premature delivery or fetal death, Chi said.
He said a normal tube of steroid ointment contains about 10g and even if a large adult man applied the ointment all over his body, it would only take about 20g; and, as eczema often occurs on small areas of the skin, it would be difficult to apply more than 300g of the medicine during pregnancy.
The research results could be used as a guideline for the use of topical steroids by women during pregnancy, so that they would not need to worry too much about using medication to relieve their skin conditions.
Research results from the study have been published in the journal Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
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