This study aimed to analyse homeless women’s life experiences during pregnancy in shelters, drop-in centres and outreach services in Iran. In this qualitative study, thematic analysis was used to explore the experiences of 13 homeless women. The results showed that all participants were substance abusers, most commonly with methamphetamine. Consistent themes emerged from the data: (a) women’s understanding, feelings and actions regarding unplanned pregnancy, (b) violence in public places, (c) social rejection, (d) maintaining femininity through maternal roles within hegemonic masculinity, (e) social exclusion, and (f) addiction as an aggravation of homelessness. In conclusion, we encourage social welfare policy and policy makers to focus on street outreach.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.