Maternity housing experienced a growth explosion during recent years, and according to the Maternity Housing Coalition 2024 Impact Report, that growth includes nearly all 50 states and several countries around the world.
Released during the 2025 Heartbeat International Conference, the Impact Report shows there are nearly 500 maternity homes in the United States, a 17 percent increase from 2022. Only two states, Wyoming and Vermont, have no such facilities. Thirty other countries have known maternity homes.
Those affiliated with Heartbeat International increased by 77 percent during the past five years and are located in all but eight states. Heartbeat is the largest network of pregnancy help organizations in the U.S. and globally.
Reasons for abortion and need for housing
Lack of affordable housing and economic situations world-wide play pivotal roles in the need for maternity homes, said Valerie Harkins, Maternity Housing Coalition director. However, other factors are involved as well.
“Women look to maternity homes, obviously for the housing, but also for the community, the support and the longevity of that,” Harkins said.
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Studies show financial concerns and lack of support from family and the father of the baby cause women to seriously consider, and often go through with, abortion. One research report published through the National Library of Medicine states, “The abortion decision-making of young women is influenced by various external factors regardless of country.”
Housing and childcare costs, which often tie in with financial concerns, are other factors.
Woven together, pregnant women may see no other option except abortion. Offering no-cost housing, providing programs that include education, job training, addiction recovery, trauma care and counseling, and emotional support from house mothers and other single, pregnant women residing in a maternity home allow an abortion-vulnerable or determined woman to more fully see a choice for life for her unborn baby.
The Impact Report states that more than 1,200 women a year are served by maternity homes.
“And that’s a conservative number,” Harkins said.
Maternity home growth continues. More than 50 maternity homes are currently in some stage of development, and three states in which housing may become available this year are Ohio, Nebraska, and Texas, Harkins said.
More pregnancy centers stepping into maternity housing
The Impact Report shows a significant increase in the number of pregnancy centers offering maternity housing. There are now 53 Heartbeat-affiliated pregnancy help centers providing that service, a 43 percent increase since 2022.
“There’s just not enough affordable housing,” Harkins told Pregnancy Help News. “Before they would have a client who needed housing, and they would refer her to a maternity home in the region. What we’re finding now is more women who need housing in their community and the center needs immediate access to housing for their clients.”
She added, “It’s becoming a natural expansion of their services for what they do, and we see that more and more.”
During the past few years, pregnancy centers in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska added a maternity home to their services.
Resource help available
Whether a pregnancy center or another organization desires to launch a maternity home, help is available through the Maternity Housing Coalition and Heartbeat International. Resource assistance includes training manuals, discounts for Heartbeat/MHC housing-focused periodicals, networking opportunities with other maternity home leaders, and online courses, including a new one on start-up for housing that walks people through, step-by-step of what to consider when opening a home, Harkins said.
Costs to establish and operate a maternity home are high. However, housing is an issue many donors rally around, she said.
“There are many donors that are happy to help fund a maternity home,” Harkins stated. “If they have a concern about fundraising, then I usually refer them to connect with our Heartbeat Academy resources for Advancement and Development training. What we find is that the community in general is quite happy to fund housing.”
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Conference offers opportunities to learn and grow
The annual Heartbeat International Conference offers another resource for those interested in maternity housing and those already operating homes. Networking with those in the realm and learning how to start and maintain a maternity home both provide critical insights, and this year more than 30 people participated in some of the foundational workshops, Harkins said.
“There is always a strong interest [in maternity housing during conference],” she said.
“We had a great time at Conference, a great showing,” she told Pregnancy Help News. “We have a dedicated housing track. During that time, we have all kinds of great topics to inspire.”
This year, that included a housing leaders roundtable, “discussing pressing matters of our times,” Harkins said, and workshops about how to start a maternity home, trauma-informed care, and staff management.
“I think the housing track does a really great job of supporting multiple roles within the organization, supporting the case manager or the house manager, the board member, and the executive director,” Harkins said.
A networking reception also took place, she added.
“We had about 80 people come to Conference that are working and operating maternity homes currently,” Harkins said. “It was truly a wonderful time of networking.”
For more information about the Maternity Housing Coalition, visit this website: https://maternityhousing.com/
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Maternity Housing Coalition and Pregnancy Help News.
