Birth Q&As

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. Why was Andrew so serious and tensed that evening?

Ans. That evening Andrew was tensed and serious. He had a
disappointing evening with his girlfriend Christine. Moreover, he ha
seen some painful incidents of husbands’ suffering at the hands of
their wives. He was short of sleep as well.
Q2. Who was Joe Morgan? Why was he so tensed and waitin
anxiously for Dr. Andrew that night?
Ans. Joe Morgan was in dire need of Dr. Andrew’s help. His wife
Susan was in labour. She was going to deliver their first child after
20 years of marriage. Joe and Susan were keen to have the child
delivered safely. So he stood waiting anxiously for the doctor.
Q3. That night proved unusual and it influenced Dr. Andrew
whole future in Blaenelly. What miraculous thing happened th
night?
Ans. Dr. Andrew had first begun his medical practice in the mining
town of Blaenelly. The successful handling of Mrs. Joe’s case
proved a turning point in his life. It was no less than a miracle. He
restored life in a stillborn child.
Q4. Why were Susan and her old mother equally so tensed th
night?
Ans. Susan was in labour after 20 years of marriage. It was natura
for her and her husband Joe to be tensed. Susan’s old mother also
stood beside her tensed and hopeful.
Q5. Susan’s mother was wise in experience. What hints did sh
give of her wisdom?
Ans. Susan’s mother was a tall, grey-haired woman of nearly
seventy. From her personal experience, she knew that the childbirt
Q6. Why and when did a shiver of horror pass over Dr.
Andrew?
Ans. Dr. Andrew was shocked and horrified as he looked at the
lifeless newly born baby. He also noticed Susan sinking. He was
in a dilemma, whom to save first.
Q7. Dr. Andrew faced the biggest dilemma of his life that
night. How did he act and save two lives?
Ans. Dr. Andrew was called to supervise the first and crucial
delivery of Susan Morgan. He was tensed and short of sleep. Still,
he decided to wait. He gave a promise to Joe and his wife that all
would be well. But he became nervous to find both the mother
and her baby in trouble. He first gave injection to Susan. Next, he
lifted the stillborn baby, put him in hot and cold water and pressed
the child’s chest. Luckily, he saved both of them.
Q8. Comment on the behaviour and role of the midwife
attending on Susan Morgan.
Ans. The midwife attending on Susan showed lack of experience
and professional attitude. She declared at once that the baby was
stillborn. She pushed it under the bed. Even when Andrew was
trying to bring back life into the baby, she showed disbelief and
even discouraged Andrew from making feverish effort. The cry of
the baby made her exclaim with joy.
Q9. What did Andrew do to restore life in the stillborn child?
Ans. Andrew recalled a similar case in the past. He gave the
same treatment to the stillborn baby. He asked for hot and icy
cold water. He placed it into cold and warm water alternately. He
rubbed the child with a rough towel and pressed and released the
little chest with his hands. The miracle happened. Its skin turned
pink and it cried.
Q10. Describe the moments when the stillborn child gave a
short heave and slowly revived.
Ans. Andrew for a while felt beaten and disappointed. But he
made one last effort. He pressed the baby’s chest gently and then
released. The technique was successful. He felt the little heart
beating. A bubble of mucus came from one nostril. The child was
gasping and then came a cry.
Q11. What was Andrew’s greatest achievement and
satisfaction as he walked out of the House Number 12, Blaina
Terrace?
Ans. Dr. Andrew was called to handle a critical case of delivery.
He was tired. He felt defeated. He was in a dilemma because of
the sinking condition of Susan and the lifeless form of her baby.
But he saved both the lives. He called it his greatest reward and
success.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1. Why was Andrew feeling so dull and listless that

evening? How did that evening influence his whole life and
career?
Ans. Andrew returned home after midnight. His experience with
Christine that evening was not happy one. Moreover, several
episodes of unhappy married couples also saddened him.
Outside his house was Joe Morgan waiting anxiously for the
doctor. He led Andrew to his house where his wife Susan was in
labour. Both were set upon the child. Andrew decided to wait and
give medical aid. He had no idea that the incident of that night
would give him not only supreme satisfaction but also name and
fame. He worked hard and very intelligently saved the life of
mother as well as her stillborn child.
Q2. What was Andrew’s dilemma after the delivery? How did
he solve the problem so successfully?
Ans. The child was born at daybreak. Dr. Andrew was filled with
horror as he looked at the lifeless baby. He had now two patients
on his hand. Susan was fast losing her pulse. The baby was
white, lax and lifeless. Andrew was in dilemma whom to give his
attention first. Going by instinct, he gave an injection to Susan
and pulled her out of danger. Then he pulled out the child, with
warm body but no breathing. He gave it an unusual treatment
using cold and hot water and the pressure of his hands. And there
was a miracle. He thanked God when the child gave out a cry.
Q3. Narrate the story in about 100 words of your own. What
message does it convey?
Ans. This story narrates an incident in which a young doctor
saves two lives. Both the mother and her still born baby were in a
critical condition. It highlights the miracle that a physician can
perform.
Andrew was a young doctor. He was called upon to supervise a
case of childbirth. Joe and his wife Susan had been married for
nearly twenty years. They were expecting their first child. Two
women were already at Susan’s bedside—Susan’s old mother
and a midwife. Andrew decided to wait till the work was
completed. When Susan gave birth to the baby, her own condition
became critical. The baby was stillborn, limp and boneless.
Andrew first restored the mother to a safe point. Then he picked
up the child. He dipped it into hot and ice cold water alternately.
He applied mild pressure on the little chest. And it came back to
life.
Q4. There is a great difference between textbook medicine
and the world of a practising physician. Discuss.
Ans. Bookish knowledge is very important as it imparts theoretical
knowledge. It teaches a man intricacies of a problem and its
probable solutions. If a man having theoretical knowledge has no
practical experience he may fail in his job. On the other hand, a
man with practical knowledge and experience only may fail to
achieve the desired results. In our day to day life we meet
compounders surpassing the doctors and the physicians. A
physician who has read the process of administering an injection
but has not done it with his own hands will fail in his attempt to
administer injection. On the contrary, a compounder can surpass
the physician because he has practical experience. Similarly, if
you have minutely observed a man doing his job to perfection you
can apply that very practical experience based on your keen
observation and achieve success. Dr. Andrew could save the
child because he had observed somebody saving an almost
lifeless child. He applied that practical experience and knowledge
and did his job efficiently. So for success especially in medical
field especially both bookish knowledge and practical experience
are indispensable.
Q5. “I have done something, oh, God! I’ve done something
real at last.” Why does Andrew say this? What does it mean?
Ans. Andrew was fresh from the medical school. He was still
working as an assistant to Dr. Edward Page in Blaenelly. He had
yet to prove his merit. He got a chance soon to test all his
learning. He knew that a doctor’s job was to save life. He got a
golden opportunity unexpectedly one evening. He was called
upon to supervise the delivery case of Susan Morgan. He waited
all night. But he was horrified to find the newborn baby almost
lifeless. The mother was also collapsing. He first saved the
mother’s life by giving an injection. Then he turned to the stillborn
baby. He applied treatment he had once seen at school. He
dipped the baby first in warm water and then in icy cold water. His
effort was crowned with success. The child began to gasp and
then cry. Andrew had supreme satisfaction because he had saved
two lives.