About Madhuri

Hello, my name is Madhuri Bedi and I am the Bereavement Support and Outreach Coordinator for South Asian Communities. In 2003, we lost our son Vishaal a day into his precious life and in 2008, we found out our daughter Rehna, had passed away at eighteen weeks due to a missed miscarriage, so I know first-hand the depths of grief and anguish felt when you lose a baby.

Sadly, there can be an associated stigma and taboo attached to baby loss within South Asian communities. This is something I only fully realised after losing Vishaal. There is an expectation for parents to forget and carry on as though it has never happened.

Such attitudes and words can often manifest into physical, mental and emotional issues detrimental to a bereaved parent's health and wellbeing, as they did mine. 

Our work to date 

"In sharing the nuances of baby loss in our shared culture (faith, extended family/community and shame), I sense my own experience was better reflected and felt more understood than I have until now." 

Vanisha Thanawala - a bereaved mother's  feedback on our monthly support groups

Since Madhuri has been in post, we have worked tirelessly to ensure we are offering valuable support to South Asian communities. We are fortunate to have the support of a steering group of bereaved parents who continue to help shape the services we offer, ensuring they are suitable for all our diverse communities. The steering group have also kindly shared their stories with Sands to enable us to share these within our training for midwives and Sands Befrienders, for example.

Furthermore, we have also formed partnerships with South Asian organisations such as the Association of South Asian Midwives, Hope Bereavement Support, Muslim Bereavement Support Service, and Himmat Collective to name a few. Through the forming of these links, we aim to collectively raise awareness of the signs and symptoms to be aware of during pregnancy while ensuring we are collectively offering bereaved parents the tailored support they require. 

We understand the significance of religious and cultural events that are observed and celebrated throughout the year, and how poignant these celebrations feel when you have lost a baby. We have acknowledged these days by sharing support videos for Eid, Diwali, and Lohri and other events, on our social media channels. 

In recognition of South Asian Heritage Month, we held a webinar discussing the stigma of loss within South Asian communities. This year we will be holding further webinars on topics that are important to you, as well as monthly online support evenings specifically for South Asian communities who appreciate having a space in which baby loss can be spoken about with the added experience of  communities and cultures. 

If you are someone who has been affected by pregnancy or baby loss from the South Asian communities and want to know more about our work and how to get involved, please get in touch with me at madhuri.bedi@sands.org.uk.