With 13 babies dying every day in the UK, it's likely that at least one family in your school will have personally been affected - probably even more.
Help us break the silence around baby loss by opening up the conversation and getting your school fundraising for Sands.
Why should we help?
Sadly, every year in the UK, an estimated 15% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, and over 4,500 babies are stillborn or die within the first 4 weeks of life. Sands is a charity supporting research to lower this number, training healthcare professionals to provide better maternity and bereavement care, campaigning for changes to policy, and, when the very worst does happen, ensuring there is support for anyone affected by this most tragic of loss.
As part of the invaluable work Sands do, we are currently developing a suite of resources for children grieving the loss of a sibling following baby or pregnancy loss, to improve their mental health outcomes, and to help all children understand baby loss.
Our first release of resources for bereaved siblings are available here.
And more resources for schools and pupils are on the way soon, so that all pupils, some of whom are likely, given how common baby loss is, to have experienced this loss, or sadly will in the future, have the language and understanding to process their feelings and support their peers.
Sands needs your support to ensure they can continue this work.
How should I talk about Sands and baby loss?
It can be hard to know the right thing to say when talking about baby loss to younger people.
You also might find that it brings up emotions or grief within yourself that can feel difficult to manage.
We have some advice that might be helpful here.
Our trained bereavement support team on our helpline are here to help, whether you need advice on how to talk about Sands and our work to younger children, or need to reach out for support yourself. You can reach them by emailing helpline@sands.org.uk or calling 0808 164 3332.
You might also want to know how to support a colleague who has experienced losing a baby. You can sign your staff team up for our Bereavement in the Workplace training here.
What help can you provide?
Whether you need banners and balloons, guidance on what to say about Sands in your school assembly or help turning your idea into a reality, our friendly fundraising team are here to chat.
Get in touch by completing this form here or drop us an email to fundraising@sands.org.uk