Were single mothers better off in the 19th Century?

Article here. Excerpt:

As far back as the 1800s, single mothers were receiving benefits. At that time, they would be paid up front and in cash, but were they better off than today?
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Cambridge historian Dr Samantha Williams has examined an early form of welfare in England and Wales called the Old English Poor Law. Under it, poor relief - as it was then called - was given out by the local parish. Looking at the plight of poor families in two Bedfordshire communities between 1760 and the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, her research reveals that a generous benefits system existed in parts of England.
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If a single pregnant mother wanted to claim poor relief before 1834, she had to go before two judicial officers and swear on the paternity of her child's father under oath. No other proof was needed. She would then receive benefits up front and the officials would try to reclaim money back from the father.

The "bastardy examinations" - as they were called - required the father to pay back all the childbirth expenses, the legal expenses it cost to pursue him and regular maintenance payments for the child, similar to child maintenance payments today.'