This episode shares stories of grief from a bereaved parent and handles the subject of baby loss, bereavement, and grief.  

On this week’s podcast, Jen and Caroline discuss the importance of creating space for parents’ voices to be heard and how we can create a just culture. 

The first guest in this episode is Clea Harmer, CEO of Sands. She talks to the podcast hosts about vital importance of healthcare professionals being able to say “sorry” to parents and why healthcare professionals need to acknowledge when something goes wrong so that they can work together with colleagues to ensure that mistakes are learnt from and not repeated.  

Clea also talks about the work that Sands does to save babies’ lives and how listening to the experiences of bereaved parents is central to this work. Listening to parents and acting on their concerns is key to improving the safety of maternity services, as has been highlighted in both the East Kent and Ockenden reviews. 

Jen and Caroline also speak to bereaved father, Vijay, who sadly lost his baby son Joshan in 2019. He talks about the experiences of care that he and his wife, Bhavna, received in hospital. He talks about the complexities of Joshan’s birth and how there was a lack of communication and equipment at the hospital which contributed to Joshan’s death. Vijay then felt he was left in the dark, with a lack of information about what happened during the birth. He had to wait three years for the result of the inquest into Joshan’s death. He reflects upon the impact this had had upon his family and his hope that lessons will be learnt for the future.  

Useful links 

To read the East Kent report, visit Maternity and neonatal services in East Kent: 'Reading the signals' report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

To read the Ockenden report, visit Final report of the Ockenden review - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Sands offers support groups specifically for men. To join, visit facebook.com/groups/sandssupportfordads 

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Sands is here to support anyone affected by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby, whenever and however they need it. You can get support from thesupport pages of our website , by joining our online community or by joining our facebook support group or facebook support group for Dads

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Sands saves babies’ lives and supports bereaved families. To learn more about Sands, visit our website or find us on facebook , Instagram and Twitter

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Voices of Baby Loss is produced by Under The Mast , creative audio productions