Here at Sands, we are are committed to create a world where fewer babies die. One major part of this, is by working with health professionals to produce research on how this can be achieved.
Please find below a range of reports that have we have helped to produce.
Sands Bereavement Care Survey (2022)
Download the PDF version of the Sands Bereavement Care survey here.
Audit of Bereavement Care Provision in UK Neonatal Units (2018)
NHS bereavement care for parents whose baby dies shortly after they are born is worryingly inconsistent and under-resourced, according to a report published today by Sands, Stillbirth and neonatal death charity, and Bliss, for babies born premature and sick.
The joint Audit of Bereavement Care Provision in UK Neonatal Units (2018) reveals that most services lack sufficient specialist staffing input and appropriate facilities to support grieving families.
The report finds that despite instances of good practice by individual nurses and doctors across the country, many services are not set up to deliver consistent high quality bereavement care and health professionals are not getting the training and support they need to perform this vital role.
Audit of Bereavement Care Provision in UK Maternity Units (2016)
This audit provides an in-depth examination of bereavement care provision in maternity units across the UK in 2016. Updating work undertaken in the Sands Bereavement Care Report 2010, the audit found that whilst there have been improvements in bereavement care in recent years, there are still aspects of care that require further attention and resourcing to ensure that all parents receive the level of care they need. The report covers topics relating to bereavement support midwives; bereavement care training; dedicated bereavement rooms and facilities; bereavement care literature and communication; and post mortem consent. Key findings are detailed in the supporting infographic.
Audit of Bereavement Care Provision in UK Maternity Units 2016
Preventing Babies' Deaths Report (2012)
Our report: Preventing Babies’ Deaths: what needs to be done (January 2012) proposes that as many as 1,200 babies’ lives could be saved every year through a combination of more research, better care and greater awareness of the risks of stillbirth and newborn baby death.
The report highlights that advances in neonatal medicine have led to small but welcome reductions in the number of newborn babies dying, however, Sands remains extremely concerned by the UK’s persistently high stillbirth rates; stillbirth numbers in the UK are the same today as they were in the late 1990s, with 1 in 200 babies being stillborn. The UK has one of the highest stillbirth rates when compared to similar high income countries (The Lancet Stillbirth Series, 2011), yet Sands strongly believes that with the appropriate commitment and investment in research and improved care, a reduction in these rates is achievable and should be a key focus for all those concerned with maternity services.
The report includes the personal stories of parents who babies have died, describing the profound, long-lasting and devastating impact of stillbirth and newborn baby death.
Download Preventing Babies’ Deaths: what needs to be done
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 how far units were following the recommendations in the Sands Guidelines. Although most units were providing care in line with the standards set out in the Guidelines, the survey found that care was poorly resourced and organised in about 20% of units, and was patchy in others. Many of the problems identified were due to understaffing and lack of resources. At a time when the birth rate is rising rapidly, Sands encourages all those responsible for funding and managing maternity services in the UK to ensure that all units have the necessary staff and other resources to provide high quality bereavement care.