Prenatal glucocorticoids have what effect on skin maturation?

• A. Decrease skin maturation
• B. Promote skin maturation
• C. No effect on skin maturation
• D. Have no effect on skin maturation

Answer: (D)

Prenatal glucocorticoids are given to speed fetal lung maturation by increasing surfactant production in type II pneumocytes, which reduces the risk of respiratory distress after birth. They do not have a meaningful effect on skin maturation; skin development is not driven by antenatal steroid exposure in the same way it is for the lungs, and there’s no evidence of a clinically significant impact on epidermal differentiation or keratinization from these antenatal doses. So, there is no effect on skin maturation.