Examining Global Gaps in Antenatal Therapy Use

A University of Bristol-led global analysis examined how often two antenatal therapies—antenatal magnesium sulfate and antenatal corticosteroids—were administered to pregnant patients at risk of preterm birth.

The analysis used neonatal data for 45,619 babies born at 24-32 weeks from 1,111 Vermont Oxford Network hospitals across 10 countries.

Between-country contrasts were most prominent for magnesium sulfate administration, with high uptake in Ireland and the UK (over 80%) alongside lower reported levels in South Africa (33.6%) and the United Arab Emirates (44.5%).

Antenatal corticosteroids, by comparison, were used more consistently across the countries examined, with less variation reported across the international datasets.

The authors also emphasized income-related differences for magnesium sulfate uptake, reporting a higher-income average of 74.8% compared with 49.4% in middle-income countries.