Maternity home

A maternity home, or maternity housing program, is a form of supportive housing provided to pregnant women. Maternity housing programs support a woman in need of a stable home environment to reach her goals in a variety of areas including education, employment, financial stability, prenatal care, and more. There are over 400 maternity homes in the United States ranging in size and criteria for admittance. Staffing model is a primary way that maternity homes differ. The three major staffing models are houseparents (e.g. a married couple), live-in staff, and shift staff. Additionally, there are a limited number of maternity housing program who operate as a "shepherding" or "host" home. In the "host home" model, women are connected to screened households that offer to provide housing.

In other countries, a maternity home (sometimes called a Mother and Baby home) can refer to a temporary residence for pregnant women awaiting birth and mothers with newborn babies. Such women might include those who travel long distances for medical care, women whose pregnancies are a kept secret to the outside world, or high-risk pregnancies in need of frequent care. Maternity homes are not to be confused with maternity hospitals, or other facilities in which women give birth. Another sort of temporary housing for pregnant women are the maternity hostels that have become widespread in countries such as India where commercial surrogacy is big business.