Miracle medicine: How antenatal steroids revolutionised neonatal care

Researchers from the Liggins Institute have just completed their latest follow-up of the famous Auckland Steroid Study. The study, conducted by paediatrician Ross Howie and obstetrician Sir Graham (Mont) Liggins, showed that giving steroids to women at risk of preterm birth could accelerate infant lung development. This treatment dramatically improved survival rates among preterm babies all over the world.

The original ‘babies’ have all now turned 50, and our researchers wanted to find out if the lifesaving steroids their mums took back in the early 1970s had any long-term effects.

In this Liggins Institute public lecture, hosted by Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding, you will hear about these important studies as well as the ongoing challenges of keeping in touch with families for 50 years of follow-up studies! Those who took part in the original trial and the follow-up studies will also be invited to contribute their stories.

Dame Jane will be joined by Professor Stuart Dalziel, Dr Anthony Walters and researcher Libby Lord, who will discuss how Mont’s work became standard obstetric practice across the world, and the follow-up studies that have continued to prove its efficacy and safety.

Join us at 6pm on Tuesday 22 October for a fascinating evening. You’re warmly invited to stay for drinks and nibbles afterwards.

Photo credit: Baby Amanda Wright, one of the original 'Auckland steroid babies', (above centre) with her cousins Darryl (above left) and Kaine (above right). The three cousins were born within six weeks of each other. Family images from Amanda and Susan Wright. Read Amanda's story here.

About the speakers

Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding

Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding (above left) is a neonatologist based at the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, and President of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. Her research concerns growth before and after birth, blood glucose regulation in the newborn, and the long-term consequences of treatments given around the time of birth.

Amongst her many awards are the Howard Williams Medal (Royal Australasian College of Physicians), the 2019 Women of Influence Supreme Award, the Rutherford Medal (Royal Society of New Zealand) and the Prime Minister’s Science Prize.

Professor Stuart Dalziel

Professor Stuart Dalziel (above centre left) is a Professor in the School of Medicine’s Departments of Surgery and Paediatrics, Director of Emergency Medicine Research and a Paediatric Emergency Medicine Specialist, Children’s Emergency Department, at Starship Children’s Hospital.

Originally from Hawke’s Bay, he trained at the Universities of Otago and Auckland, returning to New Zealand over a decade ago following a fellowship post at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London. Professor Dalziel’s research is strongly aligned to his everyday clinical practice as a Paediatric Emergency Medicine Specialist. He has received numerous local and international awards for mentoring and research excellence.

Dr Anthony Walters

Dr Anthony Walters (above right) completed his medical degree at The University of Auckland in 2013 and is in the final stages of finishing his PhD studying the long-term effects of steroid medications given to women at risk of preterm birth. In 2021 he was awarded the Ruth Spencer Medical Research Fellowship by the Auckland Medical Research Foundation to support his PhD research. He also works in clinical medicine in the Endocrinology and Diabetes departments, Te Toka Tumai (Auckland Region), Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand.

Libby Lord

Libby Lord (above centre right) is a medical student who is currently completing an honours year at the Liggins Institute supervised by Distinguished Professor Jane Harding and Dr Robyn May. She is investigating second generation effects of antenatal corticosteroid exposure looking at data from the grandchildren of the pregnant women involved in the Auckland Steroid Trial. Prior to this, she completed a 2 year clinical research internship at the Liggins Institute alongside her studies. Through this experience, she has developed a strong passion for using research to answer critical questions to improve population health and inform clinical practice.

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