Reinisch J M, Simon N G, Karow W G, Gandelman R
Science. 1978 Oct 27;202(4366):436-8. doi: 10.1126/science.705336.
Prednisone treatment for infertility and subsequent pregnancy maintenance in humans resulted in a significant decrease in the birth weight of full-term infants and a marked increase in the percentage of newborn infants weighing 2500 grams or less, that is, "light for dates" in comparison to control offspring. A parallel experiment with mice indicated that the reduction of birth weight was caused by exposure to corticosteroids rather than to maternal disease or malfunction.
人类使用泼尼松治疗不孕症及后续维持妊娠，导致足月婴儿出生体重显著降低，体重2500克及以下的新生儿百分比显著增加，即与对照后代相比“小于胎龄”。一项对小鼠的平行实验表明，出生体重降低是由接触皮质类固醇引起的，而非母体疾病或功能障碍所致。
