Remembering a beautiful angel Lily Iris Gibson born sleeping 18 July 2010 and always in our thoughts xxx
Sands Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Charity.
SANDS is a national charity, established by bereaved parents in 1981 and has 3 core aims which are to: Support anyone affected by the death of a baby; to promote the emotional, psychological and physical well-being of parents, their families and friends, when a baby dies in utero, at birth or soon after birth.To work in partnership with health professionals to improve the quality of care and services offered to bereaved families; and
To promote research and changes in practice that could help to reduce the loss of babies' lives by promoting research and the implementation of best practice that will help identify the causes and reduce the incidence of the death of a baby in utero, at birth or soon after birth, and to publish the results of such research.
Heartwrenching Facts: 17 babies die every day in the UK (11 are stillbirths, 6 are neonatal deaths) over 6,500 baby deaths a year - the equivalent of 16 jumbo jets crashing every year with no survivors.
Ten times more babies are stillborn than die of cot death every year in the UK.The stillbirth rate has remained almost unchanged for the past 10 years. (CMACE)
1 in every 200 babies are stillborn in the UK
1 in every 300 babies born in the UK die in the first four weeks of life
In one in four stillbirths the cause remains unexplained. These babies are born perfectly formed, with no clear reason why they died. We need to understand what is causing these deaths.
The majority of unexplained stillbirths are in pregnancies that were previously considered low risk. We need better ways to identify babies who are at risk.
1 in 5 stillborn babies is much smaller than they should be, yet we have no good method to detect these babies in utero and act to deliver them before they die.
Stillbirth is when a baby is born dead after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy
Neonatal death is when a baby is born alive but dies within the first 28 days of life
PLEASE GET INVOLVED
SANDS relies on the initiative of the many individuals and companies that are out there fundraising - contributions really help and they are extremely grateful and value every single penny raised.
There are so many ways that you can support, from holding a coffee morning to collecting used postage stamps. You can jump out of an aeroplane or abseil down the Tyne Bridge! Sign up for The Weather Lottery or organise a sponsored walk. You can take part in a wide range of events or why not fundraise for SANDS by organising your own event.
The link to donate to sands here
Knitters can help !
They have recently had a large numbers of orders for their Always Loved, Never Forgotten Memory Boxes, and stock of hand knitted blankets is beginning to run low. These handmade blankets form a very special part of the box provided to bereaved parents and we have been told how much comfort they bring parents at such a difficult time.The memory box also has a camera, 2 teddy bears, a small keepsake bag for a lock of hair and information about the support that Sands can offer. The pattern is very simple as can be knitted with our without the lace edging and requires approximately 200g of white double knit wool. SANDS would be incredibly grateful for any donated blankets and hope that knitters everywhere are happy to assist with their plea and please can you spread the word to family and friends.
The blanket is our basic pattern. This pattern knits to approx. a 24" square. It will always come square.
250gm of Double Knit Wool in white or cream and size 8 (UK) - 4 mm needles
BASIC BLANKET
Cast on 1 stitch
Next row :- Make the one stitch into two stitches.
Next row :- Knit 1, into the next stitch make another,3 stitches on needle.
Continue to knit, ALWAYS knit the first stitch and into the 2nd stitch make another.
Only increase this way at the BEGINNING of a row
Continue until you have worked 20 inches if you are putting border all the way round, 22 inches if you are just putting borders top and bottom or 24 inches if it is to go just on the top edge or no border at all (this should ensure you can complete the blanket with your 250 grms).
Knit 1 row plain.
Next row:- Knit 1, Knit 2 together, Knit to end of row. Continue this way, always knit the 1st stitch then decrease into the next stitch by knitting 2 together until 1 stitch remains. You should now have a neat square.
LACE EDGINGThis lace border makes the easy blanket, very special.
Using Double Knit and size 8 (UK) needles Cast on 8 stitches
Row 1 ( Wrong side) Slip 1, Knit 1,(Yarn fwd knit 2 tog)twice, Yarn fwd Knit 2 (9sts)
Rows 2, 4, and 6. Slip 1 Knit to the end.
Row 3. Slip 1, knit 2 (yarn fwd knit 2 tog) twice. Yarn fwd Knit 2 (10sts)
Row 5. Slip 1, knit 3 (yarn fwd knit 2 tog) twice. Yarn fwd Knit 2 (11sts)
Row 7. Slip 1, knit 4 (yarn fwd knit 2 tog)twice . Yarn fwd Knit 2 (12sts)
Row 8. Slip 1, Knit 11 sts
Row 9. Slip 1 Knit 11 sts Row 10 cast off 4 Sts Knit to the end ( 8sts) These 10 rows form the pattern. Continue in pattern until it is long enough to fit one edge, or all around, as you wish. Sew onto the blanket
250gm of Double Knit Wool in white or cream and size 8 (UK) - 4 mm needles
BASIC BLANKET
Cast on 1 stitch
Next row :- Make the one stitch into two stitches.
Next row :- Knit 1, into the next stitch make another,3 stitches on needle.
Continue to knit, ALWAYS knit the first stitch and into the 2nd stitch make another.
Only increase this way at the BEGINNING of a row
Continue until you have worked 20 inches if you are putting border all the way round, 22 inches if you are just putting borders top and bottom or 24 inches if it is to go just on the top edge or no border at all (this should ensure you can complete the blanket with your 250 grms).
Knit 1 row plain.
Next row:- Knit 1, Knit 2 together, Knit to end of row. Continue this way, always knit the 1st stitch then decrease into the next stitch by knitting 2 together until 1 stitch remains. You should now have a neat square.
LACE EDGINGThis lace border makes the easy blanket, very special.
Using Double Knit and size 8 (UK) needles Cast on 8 stitches
Row 1 ( Wrong side) Slip 1, Knit 1,(Yarn fwd knit 2 tog)twice, Yarn fwd Knit 2 (9sts)
Rows 2, 4, and 6. Slip 1 Knit to the end.
Row 3. Slip 1, knit 2 (yarn fwd knit 2 tog) twice. Yarn fwd Knit 2 (10sts)
Row 5. Slip 1, knit 3 (yarn fwd knit 2 tog) twice. Yarn fwd Knit 2 (11sts)
Row 7. Slip 1, knit 4 (yarn fwd knit 2 tog)twice . Yarn fwd Knit 2 (12sts)
Row 8. Slip 1, Knit 11 sts
Row 9. Slip 1 Knit 11 sts Row 10 cast off 4 Sts Knit to the end ( 8sts) These 10 rows form the pattern. Continue in pattern until it is long enough to fit one edge, or all around, as you wish. Sew onto the blanket
Sands' Why17? campaign: 17 babies die every day in the UK, this level of baby loss must stop!
17 babies die every day in the UK, the tragic victims of stillbirth or neonatal death, a statistic that is repeated every single day across the country.
This shocking figure, the loss of 6,500 babies every year, is something the public is not generally aware of. Most people think stillbirths don’t happen today, yet stillbirth in the UK is 10 times more common than cot death.
At Sands, stillbirth and neonatal death charity, we feel that this level of baby loss is totally unacceptable which is why we have launched the Why17? campaign to raise awareness of this devastating loss and to ask the question;
“Why are 17 babies a day dying and what can be done to halt this national tragedy?”
If you would like to know more about the Why17? campaign please go to
