You may have already delivered your baby. You may also be reading this in the first devastating moments after an ultrasound scan has confirmed that your baby has died. It may be that you are reading this as a parent who's in premature labour and whose baby is unlikely to survive for very long after birth. Either way, please know how sorry we are. Many of us working at Sands have experienced the death of a baby and we know how deeply saddening and bewildering it is to lose a baby at this stage of pregnancy, when you are over 12 weeks pregnant and think you are beyond any risk.

We are sorry too if the official term for your loss - a 'late miscarriage' - is a source of upset for you at this time. We know that for many parents this terminology does not reflect the grief and shock they experience when their baby dies before 24 weeks.

We hope that the information in this section will be a support to you: 

• Delivering your baby
• Naming and holding your baby
• Support organisations