For professionals
Resources and guidance
Health and social care

For healthcare professionals: what bereaved families tell us about the importance of communication and the hospital experience

Child Bereavement UK has been funded by BMA Giving to produce this guidance film to help support doctors working with bereaved families. The film includes footage from interviews with bereaved parents, exploring their experiences in hospital settings when their baby or child died or was not expected to live. With some key messages, the film’s aim is that doctors and other healthcare professionals can learn from families and ultimately improve the care and support offered.

For more on supporting parents bereaved of a baby or child, see our resources for families.

Visit our page: How we can support you for more on our services.

You can also call our Helpline 0800 02 888 40, email [email protected], or use Live Chat on our website.

Latest

What helps you when someone is unkind or jokes - Junior Youth Ambassadors
How can I support a child or young person when someone important to them has a serious illness?

Bereavement specialists share ways to support a child or young person when someone important to them has a serious illness.
What I wish my friends knew about grief - Junior Youth Ambassadors
Download our PSHE lessons on loss and bereavement

Download our free PSHE lessons and resources for schools on loss and bereavement for Key Stages 1-4. These have been developed by teachers and bereavement support workers.

For healthcare professionals: what families tell us about being bereaved by suicide

Footage from interviews with bereaved parents and children, exploring their experiences and what helped them after being bereaved by suicide.
For doctors - when a child is not expected to live

Guidance for doctors around providing sensitive support to families when a child is not expected to live.
For doctors - managing your wellbeing

Guidance for doctors on managing their wellbeing.
When a baby or child has died - guidance for medical professionals

Telling parents or carers that their baby or child has died.
Denise, Paediatric Nurse

Denise talks about her experience of working with bereaved parents, and colleagues affected in their work by the death of a child.
Dr Edward Gasiorowski, Neonatal Consultant

Dr Edward Gasiorowski is a Neonatal Consultant at St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester.
Gail Merrett, Children's Hospice Nurse

Gail Merrett is a nurse at the Francis House Children’s Hospice in Manchester.
Catherine and Clare, Neonatal Bereavement Support Sisters

Catherine Rylance and Clare Robinson are Neonatal Bereavement Support Sisters at St Mary's Hospital, Manchester.

Supporting bereaved children and young people

Children and young people grieve just as much as adults but they can show it in different ways. Find out how you can help them and more about child grieving.
Children's understanding of death at different ages

Guidance on children's understanding of death at different ages and stages of development.
Explaining to a child that someone has died

Guidance on explaining to a child that someone has died.
Explaining death and dying to children

Guidance for teachers and parents on talking to children about death and dying,
Grieving for a child

No parent expects to face the death of their child. See our resource for support and guidance on grieving for a child.
When a grandparent dies

The death of a grandparent is often a child or young person’s first encounter with the death of someone important. Parents have a great deal to manage when their own parent or carer dies.
Child Bereavement UK training

Child Bereavement UK designs and delivers training for professionals in health and social care, education, the emergency services and the voluntary and corporate sectors, equipping them to provide the best possible care to bereaved families.
Contact us

Contact details for our Helpline, departments and services.
Adults bereaved as children

How being bereaved as a child can affect your life as an adult and where you can find support.
When your baby dies

When a baby lives only a short time or dies before birth due to miscarriage, SUDIC, stillbirth or a painful decision to end the pregnancy, people may assume that the loss is not important. This is simply not the case.

Books and resources

A list of books and resources relating to grief and bereavement and what may help. Read more

Others' stories

Find out more about the experiences of bereaved families we have supported and professionals we have supported and trained. Read more

Understanding grief

Most people who are bereaved experience grief, which involves feeling lots of different emotions in response to the death of the person. Read more