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My heart goes out to the survivors of the 'mother and baby homes'. Yesterday's report was far from final. 1/7 #motherandbabyhomes
For what it is worth here are my observations, which pertain solely to mortality figures. NB commission covers 18 of 200 odd institutions (some v. small) the figure of 9,000 infant deaths cannot become ingrained in popular memory as 'the takeaway figure' #motherandbabyhomes 2/7
Repeated often enough, it will. Report is clear about its limitations but high level numbers become ingrained. Remember County Homes were the erstwhile workhouses. Beatification aside these were awful, insanitary, crumbling hellholes in the 1920s. Only 4 feature. 3/7
Those who survived infancy and were 'boarded out' were a very vulnerable cohort with poor life expectancy that suffered disadvantage across the life course. There was very little oversight. Some foster parents were good but others used it as income/ free labour. 4/7
'Boarding out' was also a way of farming out mortality particularly pre-1934 Registration of Maternity Homes Act. Starting life in these institutions had lifelong ramifications and Recommendations 46- 48, should be acted upon. 5/7
Maternal Mortality figures got lost yesterday 200, NB 18 institutions with qualified maternity care. Underlying causes of death were used in death reg, 43% of 200 figure not directly linked to pregnancy. What of MM in/associated with those smaller homes with no skilled care? 6/7
Stillbirths are and will continue to be a problem, no legal requirement to register them but they are discoverable, more research is required. From a mortality standpoint, the report is a grim but partial reading. It is a very incomplete picture. 7/7
