Sands Campaign In Scotland Helps Bereaved Families Who Suffered A Stillbrith

Teenia Harmon
11-20-2009
2:58
A Scottish hospital is now training its maternity staff on how to help parents who have suffered a stillbirth. The Scottish government is working with the charity SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society) to help bereaved families who have suffered a stillbirth recover. The government is funding SANDS with up to 20,000 pounds to train the maternity staff on how best to support families going through this loss. The charity wants to raise awareness about the infant mortality in the country, and to get people to realize what a personal tragedy it is. The Scottish government, SANDS, and health boards are planning on how to best go about raising said awareness, with the long term goal of having “fewer Scottish babies dying”. The infant mortality rate has not changed in 20 years- and the country has over 300 stillbirths a year.
I think that all maternity staff should be trained in how to sensitively deal with a stillbirth. This summer I had two friends who lost infants before they got to know them. In one case it was expected, because the baby had a defect, but in the other it was unexpected. In both cases the staff seemed very cold about it. I understand that they have to protect themselves from being hurt by it but I also think they need to be sensitive to what these families are going through. This event that they may see frequently can have huge effects on whole families, and every little bit of kindness is helpful. I think that sensitivity training should be necessary for all hospital staff because if you are in a hospital you are likely going through a hard time. Stillbirths are such tragedies that no one really knows how to handle -having medical staff who know how to be sensitive to the families needs and their pain would be very helpful.
Source:http://thegovmonitor.com/world_news/britain/sands-campaign-in-scotland-helps-bereaved-families-who-suffered-a-stillbrith-15686.html