Sands New Zealand Goals

Sands New Zealand goals are:

  • To support parents and their families who have experienced a stillbirth, newborn death or other reproductive loss;
  • To provide parents and their families with information to assist them to make informed decisions regarding their loss;
  • To provide ongoing education to health professionals and other caregivers about the experience of stillbirth, newborn death or other reproductive loss;
  • To raise public awareness of the society (Sands), the service it provides and issues relating to stillbirth, newborn death or other reproductive loss;
  • To promote the implementation of health care policies in accord with the philosophical statement set forth below;
  • To promote research into the causes and consequences of stillbirth, newborn death or other reproductive loss;
  • To network with other organisations which hold similar aims to Sands (New Zealand)

Sands New Zealand Philosophical Statement

  • That the death of a baby through reproductive loss often has a significant and lifelong impact on the lives of women, their partners and families;
  • That parents and their families must be supported through recognition, acceptance and acknowledgment of their diverse experience of loss;
  • That partnerships with health practitioners, community groups, grief and bereavement services, the Government and wider community are crucial to raising awareness of the experience and impact of stillbirth and newborn death;
  • That the diversity of individuals with regard to culture, religion, socio-economic standing, gender and uniqueness of grief reactions must be acknowledged and respected.