Smith CJF, et al. - Experts conducted a prospective cohort study of pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), or healthier comparison women to evaluate the independent impacts of maternal disease activity, medication use, and comorbid pregnancy conditions on preterm delivery (PTD) risk. An increased risk of PTD was seen in the women with RA and JIA. They noted a probable contribution of maternal disease activity and corticosteroid use to some of this excess risk. For both arthritis groups, independent of disease activity, findings suggested an association of corticosteroid use in every trimester with an approximate 2 to 5-fold elevated risk for PTD.