The report, An Unstable Start: Spotlight on Homelessness, details how poor co-ordination of local services is leaving homeless parents of children aged up to two struggling to access support and stable housing.
Many are forced to live in unsuitable bed and breakfast accommodation and hostels, or be put up by family and friends.
It welcomes the government's family policy test, which aims to ensure all social policies support family life, but warns it will not go far enough.
Among the recommendations is for the government to bring in a "gold standard" for the high-quality support a homelessness service should provide for pregnant women and families with babies.
An urgent review of out-of-area placements and their impact on family life is also needed, after the report found that councils are too often placing families with babies outside of their boundaries.
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