What is the primary goal of glucocorticoid therapy in preterm labor?

The primary goal of glucocorticoid therapy in preterm labor is to accelerate fetal lung maturation. When a woman is at risk of preterm birth, administering glucocorticoids enhances the development of the fetal lungs, specifically promoting the production of surfactant, which is critical for reducing surface tension in the alveoli after birth. This helps prevent respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), a common complication in preterm infants due to underdeveloped lungs.

By accelerating pulmonary maturity, glucocorticoids effectively improve the infant's chances of survival and reduce the incidence of complications associated with prematurity. The therapy is usually administered within 24 to 34 weeks of gestation, aligning with the timeframe where preterm delivery poses the highest risk for neonatal respiratory challenges.

Other potential therapeutic options like inducing labor, preventing gestational diabetes, or addressing maternal hypertension don't align with the specific mechanism and primary objective of glucocorticoid therapy in this context. Those interventions have their own considerations and do not address the immediate need for enhancing lung maturity in a preterm infant.