Sands NZ National Conference

Sands New Zealand

National Conference 2025

Friday 13th and Saturday 14th June, 2025

Wellington

Venue – James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor

The Terrace, Wellington

The next Sands National Conference will be held in Wellington on the 13th and 14th June 2025, with Matariki as our theme. Our conference is taking place just before the rising of Matariki, so it’s a chance for us to gather in preparation for the new year. Incorporating the themes of Matariki, we gather to remember our babies, we appreciate and celebrate each other’s company and we look ahead to the future.

We welcome bereaved parents and families, healthcare professionals, and anyone who has an interest in pregnancy, baby and infant loss, and grief and bereavement. We cater to all audiences and so far, at each conference, we tend to get a mix of bereaved parents and families, and professionals. We often get feedback from conference attendees that it is a special forum that encompasses both families and practitioners. A Sands conference is a place to come together to remember, learn, talk and feel supported in a place where pregnancy, baby, and infant loss is recognised and spoken of.

He wā huihui tahi, he wā whakamaumahara ki ā tātou pēpi, he wā mō te titiro whakamua. – A time to gather, to remember our babies, and to look ahead.

We invite presenters to talk about many aspects of pregnancy, baby and infant loss – that includes grief and bereavement, memory making, therapies for grieving parents and family members, and specialised topics like pathology and funerals. We also include topics such as early pregnancy loss, stillbirth, inducing a pregnancy due to congenital abnormality, perinatal palliative care, neonatal death, infant death, SIDS, and twin/multiple loss. There are sessions directed at health and caring professionals – the latest research on perinatal and infant loss, best practice for clinicians working with bereaved families, and more.

For more information and to register, see www.sandsnationalconference.org.nz or the conference Facebook page www.facebook.com/SandsNationalConference