Being born three months premature has lead me to deal with many health issues growing up.

When I was born I weighed a pound and a half and with my lungs not fully developed I had a 50 per cent chance of surviving.

Things were shaky for the first 10 months of my life. I needed two blood transfusions and was incubated. I also needed an oxygen tank because I couldn’t breathe on my own and I wasn’t gaining weight at a normal rate a healthy baby would either.

I know that I am very lucky to have survived. I became relatively healthy once I got into my teens, aside from always being sick as a child with my lung issues.

But other babies who are born premature are sometimes not as fortunate.

Some end up developing a range of health complications including cerebral palsy, developmental delay, vision and hearing impairment.

It’s still not known what the cause for preemie babies are but according to a study done last year for the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Alberta has the highest premature birth rates in Canada at 8.6 per cent with all of the other provinces significantly below that.

In the U.K. a study was done recently trying to find out the specific causes for premature births but came up short because more research was needed.

Another recent study conducted was from a neuroscience researcher Dr. Gerlinde Metz from the University of Lethbridge.

Metz’s team at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN), have been funded more than one million dollars from the Preventing Preterm Birth Initiative and other similar organizations to find out the cause of premature child birth.

What they have found is that it starts with inflammation (or what the body thinks is inflammation) in the mother’s body that triggers the white blood cells to go into defensive mode but responds differently to changes in the body.

I’m not sure exactly how I became premature at birth, but all that matters is that I’m alive and well and have a purpose for being here.

Everything really does happen for a reason whether we like to think so or not.
I should know this more than anyone because I’m living proof.