Sands - Guidelines for Professionals

Today Suzanne and I attended the launch conference of the new Sands "Guidelines for Professionals" regarding Pregnancy Loss and the Death of a Baby. Held at the Royal College of Physician in London. The conference was mainly aimed at healthcare professionals along with bereaved parents. The new Sands guidelines are a major leap forward from the old guidelines and will make a fantastic positive change in the way families going through the loss of a baby are treated and more importantly understood. The authors have really produced an brilliant piece of work.

As part of the launch we were all treated to a performance of "I Hate This" the one man play written and performed by David Hansen. The play re-enacts from when David and his wife Toni learn at her 30 week check-up that their unborn child has died. Jumping back and forth between two timelines, David tells the story of the 36 hours between learning this truth and the birth of their first child, as well as the year that follows - detailing the frustration, recrimination, guilt, sorrow and ultimate acceptance of their son's death. David plays over a dozen different characters, including friends and family members who cannot express their feelings, medical practitioners (both compassionate and not) as well as himself, learning to cope with his anger and helplessness in the midst of grief, as well as fashioning a new way of looking at life.

I could identify with every part of the play, and arts were scarily like looking in a mirror. It is a truly fabulous work of art and needs to be seen by anyone related with the loss of a baby. We were especially glad to see it performed in front of the doctors, midwifes and students and to watch their reactions. After the conference we had a nice chat with David and Toni, it was nice for me to see other Dads feel like I do and I think more to need to come out and speak about to help themselves and others, this is one thing I want to get across during the publicity we receive during the walk. For more about David, Toni and the play...click here