Are you interested in the 2025 Professionals' Series? You can contact me on [email protected] if you have any questions, or you can register here
The 2025 Sands NZ & VCA Professionals' Series runs from June to September 2025.
"As professionals working with families during a time when they feel their most vulnerable, it's paramount that we know how to hold them tenderly, with our words, our presence, our support. This course gives you the tools you need to journey with those suffering loss in a way that offers light in a time of great darkness." (2023 participant)
"This was an amazing course and it helped me so much in my care as a core midwife and also having an understanding for when I become an LMC" (2024 participant)
The Professionals' Series offers four months of online learning about 20 different and important aspects of baby loss in Aotearoa NZ. (That's four months of active learning and then there's a further month to complete the content). It has been developed for anyone who interacts with or supports bereaved parents, families and whānau in a professional capacity.
The course is made up of 20 hours of online content and (optional) evening discussion webinars (two in June, one in July, one in August and two in September). The webinars alternate between hearing from bereaved parents and discussion/networking with other course participants. As well as the course content, I also offer additional content that is optional.
Dates - we'll start on Sunday 1st June and end on Tuesday 30th September 2025. Access to the course will close on Friday 31st October 2025.
PRICING The cost for the four months is $550.00 +GST ($632.50)
TOPICS:
June (5 hours)
Baby Loss in Aotearoa NZ
Grief and Baby Loss
Caring for Māori Whānau
Caring for Indian Families
Caring for Pasifika Aiga
Discussion webinars on Tuesday June 10th (whakawhanaungatanga) and June 24th (hearing from bereaved parents) - 8:00-9:00pm
July (5 hours)
Self-Care for Professionals Working with Baby Loss
Models of Care
What Should I Say and Not Say?
Tender Conversations (talking about challenging topics)
Memory-Making When a Baby Dies
Discussion webinar on Tuesday 8th July (networking) - 8:00-9:00pm
August (5 hours)
Early Loss
Decision Making Following an Unexpected Diagnosis
Perinatal Hospice
Ending a Wanted Pregnancy
Loss in a Multiple Pregnancy
Discussion webinar on Tuesday 12th August (with bereaved parents) - 8:00-9:00pm
September (5 hours)
Rainbow Inclusive Perinatal Bereavement Care
Fathers and Baby Loss
When a Baby Dies in NICU
The Physical Care of a Deceased Baby
Pregnancy and Parenting After Loss
Discussion webinar on Tuesday 16th September (networking) - 8:00-9:00pm
"I can highly recommend this course to any health professional who supports bereaved parents and whānauas part of their role. As a (health professional in the baby loss space) I initially wasn't sure that I would learn much from this series, however every topic brought a new perspective and new learning that I hadn't previously came across or considered. Hearing the voices of bereaved parents through the webinars was hugely beneficial and helped to focus my practice more closely onto the parents' perspective and away from the clinical needs and day to day pressures of providing health care." (2023 participant)
"This entire course is put together so generously and thoughtfully. I have learned so much, that I know with sit with me throughout the rest of my career and I thank you for the time and intention that has gone into putting this course together. The additional links and readings are so helpful, and I like the way I have been able to step away and come back in my own time depending on how I am receiving the content, what else is happening in my life and my readiness for engaging with the content. Tied in with the monthly webinars, I have found this to be a wonderful format for learning." (2024 participant)