As a health professional, you can do a great deal to ensure parents minimize their risks of stillbirth and ensure that the memories of the parents who do experience the death of a baby are as positive as possible. Here we provide you with resources to support you in the care you give.
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2014 Updates to the Sands Audit Tool
Sands has recently revised the Audit Tool to take recent research and recommendations into account.
Application form for the individual burial or cremation of fetal remains
For more information see Certification and forms for a baby born dead before 24 weeks’ gestation in Chapter 16 and...
Audit of Bereavement Care Provision in UK Maternity Units 2016
Bereavement care in UK maternity units 2016: A snapshot
Bereavement Care in UK maternity units survey 2016
Bereavement care training for professionals: Half-day courses (3.5 hours)
Our newly revised bereavement care training is based on best practice and current research.
Bereavement care training for professionals: one-day workshops
Our newly revised one-day workshops are based on best practice and current research.
Certificate to be offered to the father of a baby born dead before 24 weeks gestation
This form should be printed in a different typeface and on special paper to make it more attractive and special...
Certificate to be offered to the fathers of a baby born dead before 24 weeks gestation
This form should be printed in a different typeface and on special paper to make it more attractive and special...
Certificate to be offered to the mother and father of a baby born dead before 24 weeks' gestation
This form should be printed in a different typeface and on special paper to make it more attractive and special...
Certificate to be offered to the mother of a baby born dead before 24 weeks gestation
This form should be printed in a different typeface and on special paper to make it more attractive and special...
Certificate to be offered to the mothers of a baby born dead before 24 weeks gestation
This form should be printed in a different typeface and on special paper to make it more attractive and special...
Creating Memories - Offering Choices
It is vital that parents are offered genuine choices. This form provides a record for staff and should be kept...
Evaluation of the National Bereavement Care Pathway interim report
This interim report falls part way through the implementation of the evaluation. It covers the following areas: The analysis of...
Form for parents who take their baby's body home
There is no legal reason why parents should not take the remains or body of their baby out of the...
Guidance for miscarriages that occur at home
This guidance note is intended to provide support and information in circumstances where a miscarriage occurs at home with no...
Letter for parents engaging them in review (PMRT) – deaths before birth
This template is designed to engage parents whose baby died before birth, in conjunction with the use of the Perinatal...
Letter for parents engaging them in review (PMRT) – deaths during or after birth
This template is designed to engage parents whose baby died during or after birth, in conjunction with the use of...
Listening to Parents Report
The National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU) has published Listening to parents. This is the first national survey of bereaved parents’...
Medical form for burial or cremation confirming that fetal remains are less than 24 weeks’ gestation
For more information see Certification and forms for a baby born dead before 24 weeks’ gestation in Chapter 16 and...
Palliative Care on Neonatal Units Guidance
Practical Guidance for the Management of Palliative Care on Neonatal Units Guidance published by the Chelsea and Westminster hospital team.
Parent Support Booklets
When a baby dies, there can be a lot of information for parents to take in. We publish a range...
Position statement: Coroners’ inquests into stillbirths
Position statement: Cremation and Ashes
Position statement: Disposal of Fetal Remains
Position statement: Post mortem examination after a pregnancy loss or death of a baby before, during or shortly after birth
Position statement: Seeing and holding the baby after a pregnancy loss or the death of a baby before, during or shortly after birth
Position statement: Storing keepsakes in hospitals
Position statement: Transferring babies to the mortuary or another hospital for a post mortem examination
Postition statement: Shared graves and lockable grave covers
Preventing Babies’ Deaths: what needs to be done (2012)
Our report: Preventing Babies’ Deaths: what needs to be done (January 2012) proposes that as many as 1,200 babies’ lives...
Sands Bereavement Care Training for Health Visitors: learning outcomes and session plan
In this document you'll find the aims, learning outcomes and session plan for our Health Visitor bereavement care training workshop.
Sands Bereavement Care Training for Interpreters: Aims, Learning Outcomes and Session Plan
Sands Lothians Parent to Parent Post Mortem Authorisation Animation
This animation is designed to enable a family to make an informed choice regarding a post mortem. It has been...
Sands position statement: Bereavement midwives
Sands position statement: Taking the baby home
Saving babies’ lives (2009)
This was published to coincide with the launch of our Why17? Campaign: it highlights problem areas that are contributing to...
Stillbirth - how professionals can make a difference
Our Stillbirth - how professionals can make a difference booklet provides key recommendations for maternity units to improve the care...
Supporting Midwives, Supporting Parents
Our Supporting Midwives, Supporting Parents leaflet outlines the services we offer both for you and for the parents in your...
Teardrop stickers
Our Teardrop stickers can be used to identify the notes of a mother whose baby has died, both in the...
The Sands Audit Tool for maternity services: Caring for parents whose baby has died
The Sands Audit Tool for maternity services: Caring for parents whose baby has died was developed to help those responsible...
The Sands Bereavement Care Report (2010)
This is the report of an online survey of UK maternity units we carried out in May 2009 to see...
Transforming Loss: reaching out to meet the needs of parents
The programme for the 10th Annual Joint Conference led by Sands with Bliss and the Royal College of Midwives .
What happens at a post-mortem – procedures and timings
What happens at a hospital post-mortem on a baby – procedures and timings covers the general testing procedures which take...
Working with interpreters when a baby dies
This guidance details best practice for healthcare professionals when working with an interpreter when a baby dies.