How many of us were born prematurely?

[Nikki A.]

I was a preemie also, under 5 lbs and I was an only child, also is a very matriarcal family. I guess I just no chance to be normal LOL.
Seriously though, according to what I've read over the years. In our early stages of development we all start out as females. Only later on do we develop into males. Is it possible that being premature that part of our brains hadn't caught up with our bodies and thus we have our fem sides?

[Pink Person]

I was born three months early. I think transgender characteristics can be linked to early birth, but the connection is not strong enough to have much predictive power.

[Babeba]

So after a day, only about 20 or so folk state that they were both preemie babies and adult crossdressers... out of all the people who post on here, that doesn't seem like a lot. I'm not sure whether the ones who don't feel that way just didn't post, or if some people who feel that way didn't post either? either way, it's not very representative yet.

Just to voice a different perspective, my brother was born prematurely and kept in the hospital for almost a month due to my mom being injured from the birth and unable to go home. He definitely doesn't crossdress (though many people think he's odd, sometimes). He IS interested in clothes, but masculine ones - I wonder if some day he'll match Don Cherry in sartorial brilliance. I've never discussed the topic of crossdressing with my Uncle who was born so prematurely that my grandparents hadn't even told their other two children they were expecting; but he has had a very thick, heavy beard all his adult life and is kind of the opposite of interested in clothing. So in being strictly premature I don't see a connection. The ongoing extra 'protectiveness' from parents makes some sense to being a contributing factor to feeling female - maybe like how smoking increases the risk of lung cancer but some people don't get it?

Michelle, a long time ago (I know it happened in the late 19th century through to the early parts of the 20th century, so not THAT long ago) it was common for all babies to be dressed in gowns - long gowns for babes-in-arms, short ones once they could toddle around in once they were crawling age, getting to dress in short pants by the time they were 2-5.. so dressing in girl clothes for 6 months maybe doesn't make as much of an impact.

[PretzelGirl]

My SO, who is a crossdresser, was born premature. Woah, I didn't know there was a correlation.

I would bet that about 50% of us were early. And also I would bet that about 50% of us were late. Okay, so maybe there are about 1% that were right on time, so my numbers need a slight adjustment. I was three weeks late myself and given a firm boot out by the doctor on top of that.

[Genivieve]

I think the observations made about behavior, perception, and relation to the world were really interesting even without the crossdress context. I was going to make one of my first films about this. I talked to a teacher and she looked confused haha! So I worked on another idea...

My mom said that I always created a sort of "nest" in my crib and tried to feel as secure as possible. I'll admit I still love sleeping with a big pillow or stuffed toy. Also, I would always use stalls to go to the restroom...make tents out of blankets to relax...I seemed t always make an attempt at securing myself. Like the opposite of claustrophobia but not to the extreme point of agoraphobia.

[Tara D. Rose]

Well I wasn't born prematurely, I was born right at 110 year too late. But I have to make the best of it.

[Frédérique]

…perhaps there is a connection to being premature and a tendency for the parents to be over protective - perhaps limiting the way they allow their child to explore the world - not being as lax as they might normally be with a male child, not as tolerant of daredevil behavior. I wasn't premature, so this is just a thought, not experience.

[SIZE="2"]I experienced this over-protectiveness from my mother, so there’s a lot of truth to the idea. With a lot of adults being around me at all times, I was the obviously the smallest and most vulnerable. That being said, I was allowed to explore the world in a constrained sense – my parents, my grandfather, and my sisters all kept watch over me, and my mother definitely sheltered me from the world at large, leading me to become shy once I started to go to school. I must say my parents didn’t really guide me in any direction, probably because I was an unexpected surprise…[/SIZE]

I was born immature... Apparently you don't grow out of that?

[SIZE="2"]Imagine being born MATURE! That would be no fun at all…[/SIZE]

I was born nearly 2 months premature. But I am also a twin, which can contribute to that. Furthermore, my mother smoked, like so many others in that day, and that could also be a contributing factor. As far as I know, my brother does not crossdress. Me? Well, I've been known to indulge in it from time to time.

[SIZE="2"]My father smoked until the day I was born – perhaps my premature birth scared him! You’ve been known to crossdress occasionally? That HAS to be the understatement of the 21st century!
[/SIZE]

[karenhunni]

one month premature here , and in an incubator too .

[Beverly]

Very interesting Thread! I too, was born a month premature. I have been crossdressing as long as I can remember! My two older sisters would play dress up with me. Growing up, my father wasn't around much. My mother would come home from work and find me completely dressed and yell at my sisters. The worse thing she would ever say was "Don't ever let your father see him like that".

[Kelly Greene]

I came out 6 weeks early
I think all this really means is that I was in a hurry to get out.

[Kate T]

Born 2 weeks late. Just posted to start evening out the numbers. I doubt it has any real connection.

BTW if you REALLY want to show a correlation between crossdressing / transgender and pregnancy term you would have to first look at the distribution of pregnancy term for ALL babies then compare that of a sample of crossdressers (ideally matched for age). You could then statistically demonstrate either a relationship between term of pregnancy or no relationship. That being said it is an interesting psychological theory / posit with regards to premature babies (particularly those with health problems) having more "protected" upbringings.

[Beth Wilde]

Nearly 2 weeks late, just to annoy my mum I think! I was born on her birthday.....

[dilane]

I was born about 20 years prematurely! No internet, no community, it was the dark ages for sure...

Natally, I popped out at the correct time, but with mysteriously long index fingers though...noticably longer than my index fingers. No other males in my large family have that trait.

[joandher]

Me Too 8 weeks early, should have been July ,but forced out in May, and weighing in at 1 lb 7 ounces but no incubator as they didn't have them at that time, Doctor told my mum sorry but he wont live as he's dehydrated.
Outlived the Doc, he he.

Hugs J-JAY

[Frédérique]

I too, was born a month premature. I have been crossdressing as long as I can remember! My two older sisters would play dress up with me. Growing up, my father wasn't around much. My mother would come home from work and find me completely dressed and yell at my sisters. The worse thing she would ever say was "Don't ever let your father see him like that".

[SIZE="2"]My two sisters were too old, too self-absorbed, or too unimaginative to even consider dressing up their little brother, so I missed a huge opportunity. Pity. My father would’ve hit the ceiling if he had seen me dressed as a girl, ditto my mother. I grew up in a world of pre-determined gender roles, in a gender-specific atmosphere, but my daydreams eventually became reality…
[/SIZE]

BTW if you REALLY want to show a correlation between crossdressing / transgender and pregnancy term you would have to first look at the distribution of pregnancy term for ALL babies then compare that of a sample of crossdressers (ideally matched for age). You could then statistically demonstrate either a relationship between term of pregnancy or no relationship. That being said it is an interesting psychological theory / posit with regards to premature babies (particularly those with health problems) having more "protected" upbringings.

[SIZE="2"]I wasn’t trying to show anything – just curious to see if there were any other premies among us. While writing and thinking about this I became more aware of "little" me being protected (or sheltered) as a child. Having a difficult beginning to life may have been a contributing factor…

My oldest sister was born right on schedule with no difficulties, but she later came up with a mysterious problem, along with mysterious symptoms, at the age of eight, and the same thing happened again at the age of 27. On each occasion she had a substantial cyst removed. I’ll spare you the gory details, but it is theorized that she “absorbed” two sisters in the womb, later manifesting themselves as problem-causing cysts. I think this is called fetal resorption – you can look it up. My sister made the medical books! Despite this odd occurrence, my sister has never felt like three beings in one body, nor does she feel like part of her unseen persona is missing, never to return. She just shrugs it off as something odd, and leaves it at that. What I get out of this is that crossdressing, or any other latent tendency, remains an unexplainable phenomenon that can result from any type of birth or any subsequent situation. Life is endearingly mysterious, in other words, and statistics ultimately cannot explain everything…


BTW, if my oldest sister had been triplets, my own conception may have never occurred at all... [/SIZE]

[AKAMichelle]

I was born almost a month late weighing 10 pounds 6 ounces and 24 inches long. If it is a pattern being premature then I am the exception.

[Kendra Sue]

Not born premature but my mother was 42 when she had me.

[SusanQ]

I was a 7 month baby, but I had no health issues. This is certainly an interesting thesis...I never considered that there could be a correlation to my wearing women's garments, and my premature birth. I always attributed it to two things: my household was quite maternally dominated, and frankly I thought that the stuff I saw my mother, aunts and cousin wearing looked intriging to me...and felt great when I tried them on.

[adraine]

I was born appox a month and a half prematurely myself , with a twin brother to boot in june as far as I know I'm the only crossdresser in the family ; and i've been a cder since I can remember

[Phoebe P.]

I believe I was 2 weeks premature, but they may have missed on the expected date. I was 8# and 24".