How we support
We are so sorry that your baby has died. Sands is an organisation of parents who have experienced the loss of a baby. Although your loss, and every loss, is unique, we understand how devastating it is when your baby dies and provide empathy for you.
We belive that there is no right or wrong way to grieve and that grief cannot be measured or compared. As unique as your baby was so is the way you grieve and the support you need. Because some people like to talk, others take comfort from reading about others experiences, some like to chat online and others prefer to meet face to face support, we try to offer a variety of different support methods throughout New Zealand.
We offer empathy and understanding. We are not counsellors and do not give professional advice but we do offer an opportunity and environment to share experiences, to talk and to listen.
Who we support
Sands supports anyone who has been affected by the death of a baby before, during or shortly after birth. We offer support and information for parents, grandparents, siblings, children, families and friends, health professionals and others.
We are empathetic, non-judgemental and inclusive to all who have experienced the death of a baby. We will support anyone who is grieving, no matter the reason their baby died, and the age or gestation of the baby. This does not mean we believe that all experiences of baby and infant loss are the same, it means that we will offer the same support to everyone
We believe love and caring are important qualities to help towards healing and growing; and we believe in the importance of a place or space to be heard (we listen), to talk about our experience (we value people’s stories) and to have our babies recognised (acknowledgement of babies’ lives no matter the gestation or how they died). We also believe in the absolute importance of creating memories for the families.
A little life
not a little loss