Statement from Sands:

The very nature of our work means we are dealing daily with bereaved parents; their families and friends, all of whom are struggling to come to terms with the death of their baby. We are equally dedicated to working with midwives and doctors to improve the bereavement care they provide to bereaved parents, as well as promoting much needed research to reduce the numbers of babies dying. 

The statistics for stillbirth and neonatal death in the UK are shocking and new research has revealed that the UK has one of the highest stillbirth rates in the developed world. We believe that this figure is totally unacceptable and have been working hard to raise awareness of stillbirth and new born baby death, not only with the media but also amongst the government and policy makers. 

That is why support and fundraising such as this are so valuable to us as we depend almost solely on the extraordinary energies and generosity of our supporters to raise the funds we need each year to deliver the wide range of services that we offer across the UK.

At Sands our mission is to:

Support anyone affected by the death of a baby;

Work with health professionals to improve the quality of care and services provided to bereaved parents and their families;

Promote changes in antenatal practice and fund research that could help to reduce the loss of babies' lives.

Sands is determined to meet the growing need for our support services. With your help we believe we can also prevent more babies from dying.