Birth Extra Questions and Answers

Short Answer Type

Q 1. “I have done something; oh, God! I’ve done something real at last.” Why does Andrew say this? What
does it mean?

Ans. Andrew says that he had done something real at last. He said this because he had handled a tough
situation. He had been successful at saving both – the mother and the child. It was a complicated delivery and
gaining success at it made him feel that he had something worthwhile. Doing something real at last means
Andrew felt content and jubilant at his own efforts and the achievement.

Q 2. Who was Joe Morgan? Why was he so tense, and waiting anxiously for Dr Andrew that night?

Answer. Joe Morgan worked as an excavator in Blaenelly, a mining town. He was a tall, robust, heavy-set man
in his forties. Joe and his wife of nearly 20 years, Susan, were expecting their first child. Joe Morgan was in
desperate need of Dr. Andrew’s assistance. Susan, his wife, was in labor. After 20 years of marriage, she was
about to give birth to their first child. Joe and Susan were anxious for the baby to arrive safely. So he waited for
the doctor with bated breath.

Q. 3. That night proved unusual and it influenced Dr Andrew’s whole future in Blaenelly. What miraculous
thing happened that night?

Answer. Dr Andrew began his medical career in the mining town of Blaenelly. The successful handling of Mrs
Joe’s case was a watershed moment in his life. It was nothing short of a miracle that he had restored life in a
stillborn child by alternating between dipping it in cold and warm water. He gained not only satisfaction but
also name and fame.

Q. 4. Susan’s mother was wise in experience. What hints did she give of her wisdom?

Answer. Susan’s mother was a tall, gray-haired woman who was nearly seventy years old. She knew from
personal experience that childbirth would take some time. She was astute enough to suspect that Dr Andrew
would not be patient for long. So she tried to persuade him to stay by offering him tea and sitting next to him.

Q. 5. Dr Andrew faced the biggest dilemma of his life that night. How did he act and save two lives?

Answer. Dr. Andrew was summoned to oversee Susan Morgan’s first and most crucial delivery. He was tense
and sleep deprived. Nonetheless, he chose to wait. He promised Joe and his wife that everything would be fine.
However, he became concerned when he discovered that both the mother and her baby were in danger. Susan
was first given an injection to calm her down. He then lifted the stillborn child and alternately immersed him in
hot and cold water and pressed the child’s chest. Fortunately, he saved both of them.

Q. 6. What was weighing on Andrew’s mind as he waited with the patient?

Ans: Andrew’s thoughts were heavy and muddled. The episode he had witnessed at Cardiff station still gripped
him and made him gloomy. He thought of Bramwell, foolishly loyal to a woman who deceived him. He thought
of Edward Page, tied to the shrewish Blodwen and of Denny, living unhappily, apart from his wife.

Q. 7. Why does the writer say that the old woman’s ‘meditation had pursued a different course’?

Ans: While Andrew was thinking about the futility of marriage and relationships, the old woman was thinking
about her daughter. She was concerned about both the mother and the child. She said that her daughter,Susan,
did not want chloroform if it would harm the baby. She really looked forward to having the child.
 Birth Extra Questions and Answers

Long Answer Type

Q. 1. “He had no premonition that this night call would prove unusual, still less that it would influence his
whole future in Blaenelly.” What was the unusual event in store for him?

Ans: At nearly midnight, when Andrew reached Bryngower, he found Joe Morgan waiting for him. Joe and his
wife had been married nearly twenty years, and were expecting their first child. He accompanied Joe to his
place where after an hour-long, harsh struggle, the child was born lifeless and the mother was in a critical state.
Andrew was tom between his desire to save the child, and his obligation towards the mother.

After he revived Susan Morgan, he turned his attention to the child. It was a perfectly formed boy, asphyxiated.
He struggled to save the child and finally succeeded. Having saved two lives in the course of the night, his
future in Blaenelly seemed to hold promise.

Q. 2. His reason told him that all these marriages were dismal failures. What are the reasons that make him
reach this conclusion?

Ans: Andrew was skeptical about relationships because of what he had closely observed. His thoughts were
serious and confused. The episode, he had witnessed at Cardiff station, still obsessed him. He thought of
Bramwell, unwisely devoted to a woman who betrayed him; he thought of Edward Page committed to the
quarrelsome Blodwen.

His thoughts turned to Denny, living unhappily, away from his wife. His reason told him that all these
marriages were dismal failures. It was a conclusion, which made him cringe in his present state. He wished to
consider marriage as a peaceful state. The conflict between his cynical mind and his ’ heart, eager to love, left
him bitter and confused.

Q. 3. Andrew’s visit to the Morgan’s gave him pleasure and satisfaction that he had not achieved earlier.
Justify.

Ans: At half past three, after an hour’s difficult struggle, the child was born lifeless. Andrew attempted to
revive the mother who lay collapsed and almost pulse-less. He injected the medicine and struggled to restore
the lifeless Susan Morgan, and after a few minutes of intense effort, her heartbeat became steady.

Andrew then turned his attention to the lifeless baby. He inferred the condition was caused by lack of oxygen in
the baby’s blood. He initiated the artificially induced method of respiration. Pouring cold water into one basin
and warm, into the other, he rushed the child, from one basin to the next, for fifteen minutes.

As his last resort, he rubbed the child with a rough towel, crushing and releasing the little chest with both his
hands, trying to get breath into that limp body.Then miraculously, the tiny chest began heaving and they heard
the child’s cry. He had saved two lives and was eternally relieved at having ‘done something real at last.’

Q4. Bookish knowledge is theoretical. It is practice and observation which makes a man with theoretical
knowledge a man perfect in his field. Discuss.

Answer. Bookish knowledge is essential because it imparts theoretical knowledge. It teaches a man the
complexities of a problem and its possible solutions. A man with theoretical knowledge who lacks practical
experience may fail in his job. A man with practical knowledge and experience, on the other hand, has a better
chance of achieving the desired results. In our daily lives, we encounter compounders who outnumber doctors
and physicians. A physician who has read the procedure for administering an injection but has not performed it
with his own hands will fail in his attempt. A compounder, on the other hand, can outperform a physician due
to his practical experience.

Similarly, if you have minutely observed a man performing his job flawlessly, you can put that very practical
experience to use and achieve success. Dr. Andrew was able to save the child because he had witnessed
someone saving a nearly lifeless child. He used his practical experience and knowledge to complete his task
quickly. So, for success, especially in the medical field, both theoretical knowledge and practical experience are
required. So, if not seasoned with practical experience, bookish or oral knowledge may prove futile and
worthless.