Welcome to the South East London SANDS Group

SANDS is a national self-help organisation that has been registered as a charity since 1981 (Registration number 299679). It has a network of over 150 groups and contacts. All people involved in the network are volunteers and their purpose is to befriend and support bereaved parents and their families, who have suffered a stillbirth or neonatal death. Our first concern is to help any bereaved parent who gets in touch but we are also working to improve services for all bereaved parents, their family and friends. Each year in the United Kingdom almost 9,000 babies die after the 20th week of pregnancy at, or within 28 days of birth, so this is an immensely important task.

If you live in or around South East London and have lost a baby, we have trained Befrienders who can contact you. Your local SANDS Befrienders are bereaved parents themselves and play a vital role in offering support to bereaved families. Many of us know first hand how much comfort and support a Befriender can give. The reassurance of talking to someone else who has been affected by the death of a baby and who lives locally to phone, or to meet you can be invaluable. If you would like to speak with someone, please Contact Us and someone will get in contact with you. Alternatively, why not come along to the South East London SANDS Group meeting. We get together on the first Monday of each month, providing a valuable opportunity to talk with people who have been through similar heartbreaking experiences. For details of the meeting place and time see details in “News” by clicking the button on the left.

The National Helpline and the details of our monthly meeting are listed on the News page, should you require more immediate assistance.

We also aim to give you information on future activities being planned by the Group and reports on recent past activities on our website.

In addition to our main support group we also run a Pregnancy After Loss Support (PALS) group. This group is open to women and their partners who are in a subsequent pregnancy after experiencing a stillbirth or neonatal death. For more details about these meetings please click here.

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