Training Day: Running for Keeping Babies Safe

For the last few weeks, I've been preparing to help out Keeping Babies Safe on Sept. 23 by running in . Last week, I moved my training to Hilsborough's Duke Farms, where the area's hills can help me get ready.

I'm still having toruble regaining my breathing after a bout of pneumonia last year, but it's getting better. Choosing to run after a couple of decades enjoying the products of the Phillip Morris Company makes one appreciate breathing, and anything that strengthens my lungs is good.

But the training makes me appreciate the importance of easy breathing—which makes me think about what Keeping Babies Safe is all about. The is focused on stopping needless infant deaths caused by unsafe products and unsafe practices by parents and health care providers.

Many people mght think the problem isn't significant, but it is: a 2009 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the numbers of infants dying by suffocation or strangulation quadrupled between 1984 and 2004.

So the issue is real and unimaginably horrible for the families who lose a child. 

Keeping Babies Safe notes things parents can do to help make sure their kids are sleep safely, including:

• Never add a mattress, pillow, comforter or padding to a portable, non full size crib. Use only mattress/pad provided by the manufacturer. Infants can suffocate in gaps between an extra mattress and the meshing of the portable crib.
• Never put infants to sleep on fluffy, plush products such as sheepskins, quilts, comforters, and pillows. These products may cause infants to re-breathe exhaled air and suffocate.

But there's more to do to spread their important message—that's where the 5K comes in. You can help by participating in the event (join my "Patch Parents" team if you don't have another) or by donating directing to Keeping Babies Safe.

I may walk as much as I run in the event because of the damage to my lungs, but I won't stop before the 5K to help Keeping Babies Safe make sure no infants have trouble breathing.