When Sam Thomas was born, his mother described him as a ''red bald rat''.
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Sam was delivered 12 weeks early and weighed only 895 grams at birth. Tina Thomas said she and husband Greg were lucky to get their son home at all. ''It was very touch and go,'' she said.
''We were one of the lucky ones. When we were in hospital, there were a lot of people who didn't get to take their babies home.''
Ms Thomas said it was a terrifying situation, especially because she had only wanted treatment for heartburn when she arrived at the Canberra Hospital in March 2008. But tests revealed the Queanbeyan woman was suffering severe pre-eclampsia.
''They said 'you'll be delivering in two days','' she said.
Sam is now a happy and healthy four-year-old, but Ms Thomas said she knows how lucky they were.
Pre-term birth is the most frequent cause of infant deaths and babies who survive face a greater risk of learning issues, long-term health complications and lifelong disabilities.
The Thomas family was among the hundreds of people taking part in the Walk for Prems at Tuggeranong yesterday to mark the start of International Premmie Month.
The walks - also held in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Launceston - raise funds and highlight the fact that 8 per cent of Australian newborns are delivered earlier than expected each year, equating to approximately 67 premature births a day.
Life's Little Treasures Foundation will use the funds to create and distribute hospital survival packs, containing information for parents on premature babies, medically defined as babies born earlier than 37 weeks.
''Providing emotional support and information is the core of what Life's Little Treasures and volunteers do,'' foundation president Parool Shah said. ''It's through events such as the Walk for Prems that we generate funds to continue our valuable work.''
The foundation helps more than 2000 families across Australia deal with issues associated with premature births. It states that half of all babies born weighing less than 1 kilogram experienced learning and behavioural difficulties, while one in four babies with a birth weight of less than 1.5 kilograms have peripheral or central hearing impairment.