The cause of the very high mortality rate in Irish mother and baby homes reportedly cannot be determined on examination of the bones, to many peoples’ anger found in unconsecrated graves, probably due to an epidemic. Spanish flu was rampant during 1918 and 19. According to a report a third of the world’s population became infected leading to an estimated 50 million or more deaths globally.
Seemingly the homes existed because there was no financial support from the state for unmarried women who became pregnant, and in cases of a lack of family support mother and baby homes were possibly the only option.