Join Associate Professor Katie Groom at this public webinar to find out why antenatal corticosteroids are so effective at improving outcomes for our most vulnerable babies.

Professor Sir Graham (Mont) Liggins first discovered that corticosteroids could be a life-saving treatment for premature babies back in the 1970s. For pregnant women expected to deliver before 35 weeks, injections of corticosteroids speed up the development of the unborn baby's lungs, gut, and cardiovascular and immune systems.

Since Mont’s time, researchers across New Zealand have led the way in improving our knowledge in this area. Researchers like Dr Katie Groom and her colleagues at the Liggins Institute have led multiple trials to investigate how best to use corticosteroids, as well as confirming their safety for a child’s short and long-term health.

Dr Groom recently led the C*STEROID Feasibility Study investigating whether corticosteroid injections given to mothers before a planned caesarean section may also reduce the risk of breathing problems in newborn babies born after 35 weeks. Hear more about this work as the team head into the multicentre C*STEROID Trial.

About the speaker

Dr Katie Groom is Associate Professor of Maternal and Perinatal Health and the Hugo Charitable Trust Fellow at the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland. She is a Subspecialist in Maternal and Fetal Medicine at National Women's Health, Auckland City Hospital.

Dr Groom is passionate about improving health outcomes for mothers and babies through effective clinical trials that are integrated into clinical practice. Her research focuses on therapies and interventions for the prevention and treatment of the major complications of pregnancy. She is Chair of the National Executive Committee for the Zealand-wide ON TRACK Network for Better Health for Mothers and Babies.