A new investigation has found increasing numbers of pregnant women are facing homelessness (Picture: Dispatches)

Midwives in the UK have said they see a pregnant woman at risk of homelessness every working day.

A ground-breaking survey of midwives who collectively care for over 15,000 women per month found almost all of them had seen a pregnant woman who was homeless in the past six months.

Frontline maternity staff said cuts to benefits, changes in the welfare system, and widespread issues with suitable housing in many areas of the UK are disproportionately affecting pregnant women.

The shocking findings have been brought to light in a new Channel 4 Dispatches programme conducted alongside the Royal College of Midwives.


Born Homeless follows three mums fighting to keep their families safe and off the street.



One such mum is Kady, who was made homeless when she was three months pregnant with her second child after the breakdown of her marriage.

Kaydy was made homeless when she was three months pregnant and has been stuck in temporary accomodation ever since (Picture: Dispatches)

Sam was made homeless by her landlord days before her baby was due (Picture: Dispatches)

Kady said she suffered from depression after another of her babies was stillborn in 2015 and her relationship suffered.

She is still living in temporary accommodation with her baby son, who is now one, and her daughter, five.

Kady told Metro.co.uk: ‘I had been going through a lot and it all just slid from there really.

‘I don’t really know what was the catalyst for me ending up homeless.

‘I was working, I had been with my partner for years but that relationship broke down and it made it difficult for me to live there anymore.’

She said she wanted to share her story to show how easily and quickly someone in a seemingly stable situation can find themselves homeless.

What the Dispatches and Royal College of Midwives investigation found 99.7% of the midwives who responded to the survey reported that they had seen a pregnant woman who was homeless in the past 6 months 96.7% reported that they had seen a pregnant woman who they believed to be at risk of homelessness in the past 6 months 97% had seen at least one pregnant woman sharing over-crowded or otherwise unsuitable accommodation 99% had seen at least one pregnant woman living in hostels, shelters or temporary accommodation 97% had seen at least one pregnant woman sofa-surfing 81% had seen at least one pregnant woman who was street homeless

Kady said: ‘When I realised how many pregnant women, young women with babies and children, were going through the same, I was shocked.

‘I’ve still got the support of my family and the community and children’s centres. I lean on that to get by.

‘But for some women, they don’t have any support, they’re bringing children up in one room in shared accomodation. They’ve got nowhere to go and nothing to do.’

Kady studied and worked before she became pregnant and said she had done ‘all the things that a person is supposed to do’.

She told the programme: ‘I got married before I had my children with somebody that I went to school with.

‘I had an idea of what I wanted my life to be like and it just didn’t pan out that way.’

Temi lives in an overcrowded house and has been told her accommodation is unsuitable as she is about to give birth (Picture: Dispatches)

Kady and her two children have been in temporary accommodation for a year and a half, and she is still having to bid for council properties online but said she feels hopeless.

She is one of 10,000 people on a waiting list for properties and has been told that if she is offered somewhere and refuses it, she will become ‘intentionally homeless’.

She said: ‘Basically it makes you feel really anxious. I am worried that I will be offered something, without knowing where it is or if it is suitable, with no viewing or way of seeing it beforehand, and I will have to agree to move there.’



Kady added: ‘When you are facing a situation like this, you don’t know how to get out of it, because you have just had a baby so you aren’t able to go out and work.

‘It’s hard enough with a newborn as it is, your hormones are all over the place. You can’t just leave them and get a job.’

Kady said she is hopeful for the future. She aims to complete a course in child psychology so she can further her career working with children with special educational needs.

She added: ‘I want to give my kids everything I have ever wanted to give them.

‘I hope to finish my training and buy my own place. That’s the long-term dream.’

Almost all the midwives surveyed said they had treated women in the last six months who were homeless or at risk of homelessness (Picture: Dispatches)

Clare Livingstone Professional Policy Advisor at The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said: ‘Every day midwives and other health professionals working in our NHS are caring for people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

‘They are among the most vulnerable in our society and midwives have a unique insight into the problem, visiting all women and babies where they live.

‘The RCM’s recent guidance for midwives on the duty to refer pregnant women who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless needs the backing of NHS employers, in enabling staff to undertake training and providing the time for them to appropriately care for women in these circumstances.

‘We have all got to do everything we can to tackle the scourge of homelessness.


‘We know that homelessness leads to stress and ill health in pregnancy and that there are potentially adverse effects for the babies of these vulnerable mothers.’

Born Homeless: Channel 4 Dispatches, Tonight , Channel 4, 8pm

Got a story for Metro.co.uk? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.