We offer a wide range of support services, outlined in detail below, to anyone affected by the death of a baby.

We also work closely with health professionals to improve care when a baby dies, and are actively promoting research to reduce the loss of babies' lives.

1. Support Services

We offer an extensive range of support services for anyone affected by the death of a baby including:

• National Helpline: 020 7436 5881 or e mail helpline(at)uk-sands.org where bereaved parents, family members and health professionals can talk in confidence to an experienced support worker. The helpline service currently receives over 200 calls a week and sends out 130 bereavement information packs a week.
  
• Support Groups: 020 7436 7940 for contact details, which are run by and for bereaved parents at a local level in many parts of the UK.
  
• Information resources: 020 7436 7940 which includes publications and leaflets on the many emotional and practical issues which parents face.
  
• Website: www.uk-sands.org the website consists of wide-ranging and separate sections for bereaved parents, for Sands Groups, and for health and social care professionals, together with detailed information on how the services that Sands offers can be accessed.

2. Improving care when a baby dies

We also work closely with health professionals to improve the care that parents receive in hospitals.  No one can take away the pain parents feel when their baby dies. But sensitive, supportive care in hospital can help to ease the grieving process.

For over 25 years we have worked in partnership with health professionals to improve understanding of what it means to lose a baby, and of what professionals can do to support and care for parents when their baby dies. We believe that the principles of honesty and respect and the need for clear information and communication should underpin bereavement care.

3. Promoting research to reduce the loss of babies' lives

17 babies are stillborn or die shortly after birth every day in the UK. We believe that this figure is unacceptably high, and we want to ensure that as few parents as possible have to experience this devastating loss.

We are actively promoting research to reduce the loss of babies lives by developing strong links with researchers and organisations in the UK and internationally. Together we are working to promote changes in practice which could help to save more babies' lives, and to identify and fund research which could further progress our understanding of stillbirth and neonatal death.