Three months pregnant and newly homeless after her housemate booted her out, Kat faced a stark choice.

The housing service she and her partner went to for help said it was too early to prioritise her and suggested she come back when she was six months pregnant. “Essentially they told me I wasn’t pregnant enough for help.”

When Kat was pregnant and homeless she found it difficult to get housing support. Credit:Jason South

Unable to afford private rental on income support, their only options were couch surfing or a rooming house. It was terrible: $350 a week for a room in a filthy house where all the furniture was broken. Kat had to bleach the bathroom before using it, and violent nighttime brawls left blood on the floor in the morning.

How many pregnant women are in Kat's situation? We simply don't know. There’s an alarming lack of data on the number of pregnant and homeless women in Victoria, and no coordinated response, new research has revealed.