1 Joint Program in Neonatology and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachwietts, and McGill University-Montreal Children's Hospital Research Institute, Montreal Quebec, Canada
Removal of amniotic fluid and the production of oligohydramnios in the pregnant ewe failed to accelerate pulmonary maturation in the fetal lamb. If further human studies confirm that the PROM induces pulmonary maturation, a third event, perhaps release of a mediator that causes both spontaneous PROM and pulmonary maturation, must be postulated.