Throughout the last 40 years, Held In Our Hearts (prior to 2020 known as Sands Lothians) was, and still is, unique in recognising that everyone’s journey after loss is different – and our services have always been flexible to reflect this. All our services are person centred and we connect and journey with a family at a pace that feels right for them. No one’s grief is the same and some families may receive early intervention from Hospital to Home whereas others may have a peer supporter or receive long term counselling.
Here is a little history of the journey we have been on until this day:
The charity started as a small group of bereaved parents in the 1980’s meeting at home to support one another through the grief of baby loss at a time when there was little support available in the community and when baby loss was a ‘taboo’. The support groups recognised the deep and often traumatic affect losing a baby has on parents, family and the extended community. Over the years the group evolved and, with increasing demand for more support, they sought to formally incorporate as a Scottish Charity in 1996.
In 1986 Prof. Neil MacIntosh came to Edinburgh to work as Head of the Department of Child Life and Health. He was a huge influence on the charity in Edinburgh. He involved the charity in speaking at medical student tutorials which proved of great benefit to the students. Education and training is still something we feel passionate about and deliver regular training to all our Health Board professionals. At the heart of these talks is the voice of a bereaved parent as we believe lived experience will always provide a professional with the clearest understanding of loss. We also annually support student midwifery placements.
In August 2000 we moved to our office Craiglockhart, Edinburgh, which continues to be our happy ‘home’, and in 2012 we secured our premises in Craigsfarm, West Lothian.
2012 was also the year Nicola Welsh started volunteering for the charity and became our Chief Executive in 2015. Nicola expanded us from an Edinburgh focused charity to reaching further across Scotland, and in turn, supporting more families than ever before. Nicola’s own personal experience of baby loss means the voices are at the heart of our strategy as well as bringing the voice of the bereaved parent to all meetings and conferences she attends. We have grown from a team of 4 to 25 and our focus and priority is still the bereaved parents and we believe no one should be alone after their precious baby dies.
The Covid-19 pandemic tested our resources but not our heart, and we continued to help families throughout the pandemic, switching almost overnight to online working.
Not only did the pandemic change our look in 2020, but additionally we had just undergone a brand refresh, changing the name to Held In Our Hearts, to signify how we hold the families we work with, and their beloved babies, in our hearts, in line with our core values of Empathy, Connection and Love.
Post-pandemic brought new opportunities for the charity, that enabled us to expand in to the Highland region of Scotland in 2023. Having launched our Hospital to Home pilot project in Edinburgh in 2022, we were delighted to be able to extend the Hospital to Home service to include families in Fife, Forth Valley and Highland in April 2024. This innovative and pioneering project changes the way we provide bereavement care as it is an opt out rather than opt in service. Until the project was launched, it was left to families to reach out for support. The project means all parents are
The majority of our staff are bereaved parents themselves so understand the impact of baby loss. Our service continues to grow and we continue to evolve to meet the needs of families. We are proud of our history and our doors and hearts are always open to anyone following the death of a precious baby.
