Our brother, Josh, and sister-in-law, Beth, found out that their little boy no longer had a heartbeat when Beth was 39 weeks pregnant. Beth was induced 2 days later and Nathaniel Joel was born, a perfect little boy weighing 7lbs 2½oz.

Josh and Beth were given lots of information on a range of questions and issues to do with stillbirth. These leaflets, provided by Sands, were sensitive and extremely useful as they started to process the dreadful news. This allowed them to prepare before Nathaniel's birth and enabled them to understand all the procedures that they would then have to go through.

It was such a blessing to be in a room funded by Teardrop, affiliated to Sands, and to have a midwife delivering Nathaniel who had been specifically trained by Teardrop. There were lots of extra touches to the room that set it apart from the other rooms on the delivery suite, such as a sofa bed, memory boxes and hand-knitted clothes and blankets for the babies. It was a place where "normal rules don't apply" so the whole family could be together at any time of the day or night. Josh and Beth also spent time in the Teardrop garden, which was a beautiful and peaceful space very close to the delivery suite. During this difficult time it was little things like these that they found so helpful and, as a wider family, it was so good to see the excellence of care which they received.

The statistics for stillbirth and neonatal death in the UK are shocking and new research has revealed that the UK has one of the highest stillbirth rates in the developed world; 17 babies are stillborn or die shortly after birth every single day, yet very little is being done to bring this horrific number down. That is why support and fundraising are so valuable as Sands depends almost solely on the generosity of their supporters to raise the funds needed each year to deliver the wide range of services that they offer across the UK.

We decided to take part in this 10k run in order to raise money and awareness for Sands, for whom we are so grateful. We hope that you will support this fantastic charity, in memory of our nephew, Nathaniel Joel.