The Lying-in Home for single mothers opened on the site of the former Female Factory at Cascades in 1888. The government ran it assisted by a voluntary women’s visiting committee. In 1895, the committee of the Home of Mercy briefly took over the management of the Lying-in Home. That same year, it moved to the New Town Charitable Institution. In 1900 it closed.
The Lying-in Home occupied three rooms in Yard Three.
A Miss Galvin, who was a certified midwife, ran it.
To gain admission, mothers needed a referral from an officer in the Charitable Grants Department. Eventually, the ladies’ Committee that ran the Home was able to offer referrals.
Less than 20 mothers had their babies at the Lying-in Home every year. Some of them stayed at the New Town Charitable Institution until their confinement and others went there after the birth. They mostly kept their babies and were helped to find work in order to support them.
