SANDS (Stillbirth and neonatal death charity) Awareness Month 2019 is in June, and is an annual event run by SANDS (Stillbirth and neonatal death charity), to raise awareness of the facts and impacts relating to neonatal deaths and stillbirths. The loss of a child in pregnancy or childbirth affects parents for life, but the wider public are not always aware of the full impact of such a tragedy.

The aim of the month is to raise funds as well as awareness, to support research into neonatal death. Often the causes of death are unknown, but many neonatal deaths and stillbirths have no apparent cause, which is an extra anguish to the bereaved parents. Up to 15 babies a day die during pregnancy and labour or shortly after birth in the UK.

SANDS is a national UK charity which provides free support to bereaved parents in the forms of individual and group support, and relies on donations to be able to provide this service.

The awareness month offers vital fundraising opportunities to ensure that the money is raised to provide that vital support, to make sure that parents can cope with the bereavement as best possible and understand that they are not to blame for the baby’s death when sometimes there are no answers as to why it happened and to help them to keep coping with life during a difficult time that sometimes others around them may struggle to understand or know what to say.

This year’s Awareness Month is using orange and blue bunting and lights to highlight events, and organizations and individuals can take part and display posters at their fundraising and awareness events.