YOUNG Cameron Gooding puts his prematurity into perspective.

"I weighed less than a bag of sugar," he explained to his mum Emma.

The baby clothing once swaddling his tiny frame is also a reminder of his early arrival - 16 weeks earlier than anticipated.

For Emma and husband Paul, from Bradford, the birth of their first child was a traumatic time. Cameron weighed just 1lb 7oz and spent the first four months of his life in hospital.

"It was a scary time," recalls Emma, who has since had five-year-old daughter Anya.

Thankfully, Cameron's prematurity hasn't caused him any subsequent health problems but it has prompted Emma to use her own experience positively by helping other parents who may find themselves in the same predicament.

Emma explains her introduction to the baby charity Bliss came when she was given a leaflet about it while in hospital with Cameron.

"At the time there wasn't a lot of support for parents and, as he got bigger, I just thought I wanted to do something about it because as much as hospital staff try to help you they are really there to look after the babies," explains Emma.

Two years ago Emma became a parent representative on the charity's Yorkshire neo-natal network.

The special care baby charity, provides vital support and care to premature and sick babies across the UK. Founded 30 years ago, they offer guidance and information at a critical time in families' lives. They also fund ground-breaking research and campaign for babies to receive the best possible level of care regardless of when and where they are born.

Bliss is understood to be the only national charity dedicated to improving both the survival and long-term quality of life for babies born too soon, too small or too sick to cope on their own.

Through her involvement with the charity's neo-natal network and attending their quarterly meetings, Emma is looking to become a Bliss Champion, supporting parents of premature babies in hospital, and she is also backing the charity's campaign to increase the number of nurses working in neo-natal units.

To help raise the campaign's profile, Emma, accompanied by Cameron, attended a reception organised by the charity at the Houses of Parliament.

"We are trying to get parliament to listen to Bliss issues. We have released the Bliss baby report which has highlighted things like the amount of neo-natal units across NHS England that are under-staffed," says Emma, referring to those neonatal units where premature and sick babies are cared for.

She says the charity has calculated to meet the minimum standards of nurses within neo-natal units across NHS England they would need another 2,140 nurses.

Cameron wasn't the only child born prematurely to join Bliss' visit to the House of Commons.

"Without the wonderful support of the NHS I would not have Cameron," says Emma.

She says staff shortages aren't fair to the staff either as many work extremely hard and are truly dedicated to their jobs.

Emma witnessed that dedication first hand while Cameron was in hospital during the heavy snow falls when staff stayed on at the end of their shifts to allow their colleagues time to get into work.

"You couldn't fault the dedication of them," says Emma.

"Primarily, it is trying to make things better for families and for babies who follow us on."

Emma says she hopes the campaign will achieve better care for babies in neo-natal units and also better support for families.

She says Cameron now has a greater understanding of his prematurity. "He understands he was premature and spent four months in hospital as a baby," says Emma.

During his time in the Houses of Parliament Cameron enjoyed talking about Star Wars - according to Emma.

"He talked to a lot of people and to one of the Lords who came to us about Star Wars. He loves his Star Wars."

"Cameron has been really really lucky and the miracle is he has made it completely unscathed. He is a real exception to the rule," adds Emma.

Chief Executive of Bliss, the premature and sick baby charity, Caroline Davey, said: “Our volunteers play a crucial role in supporting the parents of premature and sick babies. Whether providing face-to-face support while their babies are in hospital, answering calls on our free helpline, or helping raise money and awareness for Bliss, we are hugely grateful to volunteers like Emma who make a huge contribution to our work.”

For more information visit bliss.org.uk