Through the Sands Diabetes Project, we will listen to parents affected by diabetes in pregnancy, healthcare professionals, and other diabetes experts. We want to better understand what is working well, where support and care need to improve, and how we can save more babies' lives.

At the same time, an MBRRACE-UK project is looking at the care provided in pregnancies affected by diabetes where a baby died. By bringing together learning from medical records with the experiences of bereaved parents and those involved in their care, we can build a fuller picture of what needs to change.

At Sands, we believe meaningful change starts with listening. When we combine people's experiences with research and evidence, we can identify improvements that make care safer and help turn grief into action.

- Clea Harmer, Chief Executive, Sands

What does the Sands Diabetes Project aim to achieve? 

Once we have heard from healthcare staff and bereaved parents and know more about what needs to change, we will bring professional experts together with bereaved parents to discuss the biggest challenges in this area of care and, importantly, plan for improvement.    

We will work together to raise awareness, support safer and more positive pregnancy experiences, and reduce pregnancy loss and baby deaths.   

This work will be shaped at every stage by a committed group of bereaved parents with experience of diabetes in pregnancy, who want to improve care and experiences for families across the UK. 

Experts and supporting organisations as part of the Sands Diabetes Project 

As part of the Sands Diabetes Project we are already working with leading professionals in this area, who are providing expert support across the different types of diabetes. 

This project is supported by funding from Teddy’s Wish – a huge thank you to them for their ongoing support to save babies’ lives.  

At Teddy’s Wish, we believe that bereaved parents’ experiences have a vital role to play in improving care and helping to prevent future baby deaths. Clinical evidence can tell us so much, but it cannot always capture how care was experienced by families – the conversations they had, the concerns they raised or the opportunities that may have been missed.

We are proud to fund the Sands Diabetes Project and to support Sands in ensuring that parents’ voices sit alongside the clinical findings. By bringing together evidence and lived experience, we hope this important work will lead to meaningful improvements in care, help address inequalities and ultimately save babies’ lives.

- Jen Reid Co-Founder and CEO, Teddy’s Wish

Ways for bereaved parents to get involved with Sands Diabetes Project 

Bereaved parents who have experienced pregnancy or baby loss in a pregnancy affected by diabetes, in the UK since 2021, can get involved with the Sands Diabetes Project by joining a focus group or completing a survey.