Which medication is used to promote fetal lung maturity in threatened preterm labor?

• A. Nalbuphine
• B. Betamethasone
• C. Rho(D) immune globulin
• D. Dinoprostone vaginal insert

Answer: (B)

Antenatal corticosteroids are given when preterm birth is likely to speed fetal lung development. Betamethasone is the corticosteroid used to accelerate the maturation of the fetal lungs by increasing surfactant production, which helps the lungs stay inflated after birth and lowers the risk of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. This intervention is most beneficial when delivery could occur within about a week and the pregnancy is in the mid to late preterm window, roughly 24 to 34 weeks.

Nalbuphine is an analgesic used for labor pain relief, not for lung maturity. Rho(D) immune globulin is given to Rh-negative mothers to prevent isoimmunization, not to affect the fetus’s lungs. Dinoprostone vaginal insert is used to ripen the cervix and induce labor, not to promote fetal lung maturity.