No baby should begin life without a safe place to sleep 

Our official partner, Shared Health Foundation, has released a new report, Cradling Maternal Disparities: No Crib for a Bed. It is a powerful reminder that temporary accommodation is not just a housing issue.  

It is a health issue. A childhood issue. A maternity issue. A safeguarding issue. 

The report looks at homelessness through a maternal and reproductive health lens, drawing on Shared Health Foundation’s work with homeless families and pregnant women placed in emergency and temporary accommodation. It highlights the reality for women navigating pregnancy without the safety, stability or dignity of a secure home.  

By the end of 2025, more than 176,000 children were living in temporary accommodation in England, including 4,888 children under one. The report also cites separate government estimates suggesting 20,000 babies under one were without secure housing in 2023.  

Behind those numbers are women preparing to give birth in rooms without cooking facilities, safe sleep space, privacy, or stability. Families are moved at short notice. Mothers are left isolated. Babies begin life in environments that were never designed for childhood. 

Shared Health Foundation argues that homelessness is an adverse childhood experience – clinically, practically, emotionally, and socially – and that the harm can begin before birth.  

The report calls for urgent reform, including stronger housing protections for pregnant women and infants, mandatory recording of housing status in maternity services, safer discharge protocols, nutrition standards, and better continuity of care.  

While the Cradling Maternal Disparities report focuses on pregnancy and maternal health, its message is central to 165,000 Reasons.  

Temporary accommodation is not just a roof over a family’s head. It can shape a child’s earliest environment, affect maternal wellbeing, disrupt access to care, and make the first 1,001 days of life less safe, less stable, and less supported. 

That is why we are calling for better standards now, faster routes into stable homes and long-term reform. Families need accommodation that is safe and suitable today – but the real goal must be to reduce the time children and families spend in temporary accommodation at all. 

There are 165,000 reasons to act. Every one of them is a child. 

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