• Sands & Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit

    Together, the charities Sands & Tommy’s have formed a Joint Policy Unit. We are focussed on achieving policy change that will save more babies’ lives during pregnancy and the neonatal period and on tackling inequalities in loss, so that everyone can benefit from the best possible outcomes.

Our Mission

Our mission is to secure policy change that will reduce rates of miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-term birth and neonatal death, and to work to eliminate inequalities in these outcomes.

Latest Developments

Joint Policy Unit response to latest ONS data on stillbirths and neonatal deaths in England and Wales 2024

Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this week emphasises the urgent need for system-level changes in England and Wales to save more babies’ lives and tackle inequalities in pregnancy and baby loss.
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Commitments in the renewed Women’s Health Strategy must be embedded in system-level changes

In April, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published a refreshed Women's Health Strategy which contained commitments to listen to women*, tackle inequalities in health outcomes and improve performance in services that matter most to women, including enhancing miscarriage support. While individual commitments are welcome, the investigation and taskforce must consider how they are embedded in system-level changes.  
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An image of a women sitting on an examination bed listening to a female doctor sitting opposite her

Briefing 2026: Counting miscarriages in the UK

Most of the miscarriage data available are limited to miscarriages which result in a hospital stay. This briefing note outlines what data are currently available in each nation, and what opportunities are available to improve the recording of miscarriage from all settings.
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Sands Charity registration number 299679. Company Limited by Guarantee Number 2212082 • Scottish Charity Registration Number SC042789 •
Tommy's Charity registration number 1060508. Company Limited by Guarantee Number 3266897 • Scottish Charity Registration Number SC039280 •
Sands and Tommy’s also operate in Northern Ireland