“…Corticosteroids administered before birth proved to significantly reduce morbidity and mortality from the respiratory distress syndrome and periventricular hemorrhage (Avery et al, 1985;Crowley, 1995). After birth, however, the effects of such therapy are equivocal (for review, Bos & Bambang Oetomo, 1996). A side effect of treatment before birth is interference with CNS development as indicated by a decrease in fetal body movements, breathing activity, and fetal heart rate variability (Derks et al, 1995;Mulder et al, 1994;Bos et al, 1984), and in the neonate, on the quality of General Movements (Bos et al, 1998).…”