DAPHNE, Alabama — Robinson Hal Turner has come a long way since his birth July 13, 2008.

In many ways developmentally he is ahead of children his age. He is tall. At age 3 he is the height of the average 4-year-old, measuring in the 97th percentile for a boy his age.

He is also above average in weight for a child his age, averaging above the 50th percentile in that category.

And that’s saying something, considering that Robinson, born at just 26 weeks, measured 12 inches and weighed just 1 pound, 7 ounces at birth.

The last three years have been a huge challenge for Robinson and his parents, Jackie and Rian Turner of Daphne.

Like many mothers where premature birth is involved, Turner suffered from preeclampsia. Her blood pressure spiked and her liver and kidneys began to fail, and she was transferred to USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Mobile, where, on Sunday, July 13, 2008, at 26 weeks, more than three months premature, Robinson was taken by emergency C. Section.

Considered a micro-preemie because he was born before the 27th week, Robinson required round-the-clock care.

Robinson stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at USA Children’s and Women’s for three months and four days.

“Our main challenges here are just to get them breathing on their own, get them eating and to get their weight up,” said Renee Rogers, neonatal nursing supervisor at USA Children’s and Women’s.

Then on Oct. 17, free of all the tubes and respirators, Robinson was able to come home.

“Our first challenge was just to keep him healthy,” said Robinson’s mother in a recent phone interview. Because his immune system was not developed properly, Robinson had to remain largely isolated for the first two years of his life, particularly during what is known as RSV or (respiratory syncytial virus) season which typically runs from late fall through winter and into early spring.

Jackie Turner is the daughter of James and Valerie Robinson of Gulf Shores and the granddaughter of Dorothy Robinson of Robertsdale. Rian Turner is the son of Peggy Turner of Leakesville, Miss., and the late Hal Turner.

“He could tolerate small family settings,” Jackie Turner said, “but he had to be kept away from large family settings and he couldn’t be around school-age children.”

As a result, Robinson didn’t get his first cold until about 18 months, Turner said, and then it was pretty nerve-wracking because his immune system was still pretty weak.

While Robinson has faced health concerns and had to undergo surgical procedures early on to correct internal systems that were not developed properly, certain areas of development, such as motor skills, walking and eyesight, have so far developed normally.

But the Turners weathered those challenges and Robinson is more and more able to be in social settings such as family gatherings and he has started attending a full-time preschool where he is able to interact with other children his age.

He has regular checkups with a pediatrician and attends therapy sessions twice per week.

“It’s all about floor time, being able to interact and evaluate the children in social settings,” said Shannon Norris, occupational therapist and co-owner of Kids Kount Therapy Services in Daphne.

Robinson, like many micro-preemies, has been diagnosed with sensory integration disorder.

While Norris did not comment specifically on Robinson’s case, she said sensory integration disorder is a social disorder that affects many preemies in which many of the tactile senses are slow to develop.

“Tactile senses aren’t fully developed until the final month of pregnancy,” she said. “When you have a baby born at 24, 26 or 28 weeks (more than three months premature), the more severe those problems are likely to be.”

While not necessarily true in Robinson’s case, Norris said, up until the age of 2, premature infants often don’t like to be touched, swaddled or rocked. They can also be slow developing motor and balance skills, such as standing or walking.

“Our main focus is on play time,” Norris said. “We encourage parents to interact with children and we also have interaction with children who have developed normally, kind of a learning by doing process.”

Norris and co-owner Andrea Pointer, a speech language pathologist, are also counted among the few places around that are certified to evaluate children.

“I was a preemie myself, so I am very in tune with parents and the stress they go through,” Norris said.

For a micro-preemie like Robinson oftentimes not much is known from a developmental standpoint.

“There’s just not a lot of data out there so it can be frustrating,” Turner said.

Laurie Byrd, neonatal nursing assistant at USA Children’s and Women’s, said the neonatology unit at USA began in 1968, and when she started there 21 years ago, the development for micro-preemies was in its infancy.

“There have been some major advancements just in the last 21 years,” she said. “I think people don’t realize just how fortunate they are to have this facility here.”

Byrd said as of Nov. 16, there were approximately 80 babies in the NICU unit at USA Children’s and Women’s. About half of those were considered micro-preemies.

“We just hired someone fulltime about a year ago that is tracking micro-preemies through the first five years of development,” Byrd said. “We are just now beginning to compile data and that will be invaluable in further research.”

Meanwhile, Robinson continues to grow by leaps and bounds and, Turner said, their family continues to consider themselves extremely blessed.

“There is just so much we don’t know and there are so many things that could have happened that didn’t,” she said. “He is doing so great and we are so blessed to have our family, friends, doctors and therapists there for support.”

The Turners have also been blessed to have been associated with groups such as the March of Dimes, who recognize November as Prematurity Awareness Month.

During Premature Baby Awareness Month in November, the March of Dimes is encouraging awareness with a website, www.marchofdimes.com.

The website contains information about premature babies, the warning signs and special needs that premature babies face.

In 2005, the March of Dimes began the Prematurity Research Institute, which funds research into the causes of prematurity. More than $15 million has been awarded to 43 grantees over the past six years.

Here are just a few statistics:

• From 2004 to 2007, Byrd said, USA has enjoyed a 100 percent survival and mortality rate (no severe neurological development) for babies born at 26 weeks. Nationally, the survival rate ranges from 17 percent for babies born at 23 weeks to nearly 100 percent for babies born at 32 weeks or later.

• In the United States, about 12.8 percent of babies (more than half a million a year) are born prematurely. The rate of premature birth has increased by 36 percent since the early 1980s.

• Premature babies are at increased risk for newborn health complications, such as breathing problems, and even death. Most premature babies require care in a newborn intensive care unit, which has specialized medical staff and equipment that can deal with the multiple problems faced by premature infants.

• Premature babies also face an increased risk of lasting disabilities, such as mental retardation, learning and behavioral problems, cerebral palsy, lung problems and vision and hearing loss. Two recent studies suggest that premature babies may be at increased risk of symptoms associated with autism (social, behavioral and speech problems). Studies also suggest that babies born very prematurely may be at increased risk of certain adult health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

• More than 70 percent of premature babies are born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation. These are called late-preterm births. Late-preterm babies account for most of the increase in the premature birth rate in this country. A 2008 study found that cesarean sections (c-sections) account for nearly all of the increase in U.S. singleton premature births, and this group had the largest increase in c-section deliveries.

• About 12 percent of premature babies are born between 32 and 33 weeks gestation, about 10 percent between 28 and 31 weeks, and about 6 percent at less than 28 weeks gestation.

• All premature babies are at risk for health problems, but the earlier a baby is born, the greater the risk for serious complications. Babies born before about 32 weeks gestation usually are very small, and their organs are less developed than those of babies born later. Fortunately, advances in obstetrics and neonatology (the branch of pediatrics that deals with newborns) have improved the chances of survival for even the smallest babies.