SANDS New Bereavement App

In September, SANDS launched a bereavement support app and with Baby Loss Awareness Week approaching, we wanted to help make sure that as many healthcare professionals were aware about this as possible.

The app talks through, step by step what a parent can expect at each stage following a loss of a baby and what options are available to parents. In the past, leaflets or booklets made up all of this information, meaning that parents might not find out about different things they could have done until it was too late.

The app idea was inspired by Nicole Regan-White, a bereaved mother, whose baby Jessica was stillborn after 42 weeks’ gestation in 2013.

Nicole said: ‘When Jessica died I was devastated and the midwife at the hospital didn’t know what to say to me. At the time I was given 13 booklets, one that was 67 pages long. I could barely read five words, let alone read and digest such a long publication. When I did read it I discovered some of the content was not relevant to us, or it was too late for us to use, and was just too much to take in.’

The app will be invaluable for student or newly qualified midwives with less experience of bereavement care. Amongst many other things, the app talks through making difficult decisions, making memories and what should happen if parents want to take their baby home for a time.

There are sections for family members, friends and colleagues as well as information on returning to work.

We hope that all who work with bereaved parents will make use of this important resource, either by way of signposting or topping up their own knowledge of what can be offered / done to help. You can find out more about the app and find the links to download here.