Birth Summary in English by A.J. Cronin

Birth Summary in English and Hindi Pdf. Birth is written by A.J. Cronin.

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Birth Summary in English by A.J. Cronin

About the Author Masti A.J. Cronin

Author Name A.J. Cronin
Born 19 July 1896, Cardross, United Kingdom
Died 6 January 1981, Montreux, Switzerland
Full Name Archibald Joseph Cronin
Movies and TV shows Citadel, The Stars Look Down
Awards National Book Award for Fiction
A.J. Cronin - birth summary in english class 11
A.J. Cronin

Birth Theme

Dr Andrew Manson has just begun his medical practice in the small Welsh mining town of Blaenelly. When he returns from a terrible evening with his girlfriend Christine, Joe Morgan approaches Dr Andrew Manson to help in the delivery of his wife.

Dr Andrew Manson has to put in much labour in the delivery, as the mother requires much attention before she is revived. Further, the baby was not breathing at birth. Using all his knowledge and intuition, Dr Andrew Manson makes more efforts to revive the child. After almost half an hour of frantic efforts, he succeeds and comes away with a sense of achievement.

Birth About the Characters

Dr Andrew Manson: He is a young medical graduate working in a small mining town. On the call of Joe Morgan, a miner, Dr Andrew Manson manages to help in a difficult birth and saves the baby’s life due to his knowledge and efforts.

Joe Morgan: He is the miner husband of Susan Morgan. He asks Dr Andrew Manson to help in his wife’s delivery and reposes full faith in the doctor.

Susan Morgan’s Mother: She is a tall, grey-haired woman aged 70 who is concerned about her daughter’s happiness.

The Midwife: She is pessimistic about the child’s survival when he is found to be not breathing when born, but still dutifully assists Dr Andrew Manson in his work.

Birth Summary in English

Joe Morgan was Waiting for Dr Andrew
Dr Andrew had recently graduated from medical college. He was practicing as an assistant to Dr Edward Page in a small Welsh mining town named Blaenelly. One night he was returning home when he found Joe Morgan waiting for him outside the doctor’s home. He had been there for more than an hour. He looked relaxed to see the doctor. He informed that the doctor was needed at their home as his wife was expecting to deliver a baby after almost 20 years of marriage. Dr Andrew asked him to wait for a few minutes. He went inside, got his medical bag and set out for Joe Morgan’s house.

The Case Demanded All Attention of Dr Andrew
Joe Morgan stopped outside the house and requested Dr Andrew to go inside alone. Through a narrow staircase the doctor reached a small, clean but scantily furnished room. He found two women beside the patient, Susan Morgan’s mother, a tall, grey-haired woman of nearly seventy, and an elderly midwife.

Susan’s mother offered him a cup of tea. So, Dr Andrew sensed that she didn’t want him to leave, as there would be some waiting period. Dr Andrew was tired but still decided to stay.

An hour later, Dr Andrew went to check the patient and came down. The restless footsteps of Joe Morgan could be heard as he paced the street outside.

Dr Andrew’s Mind Wandered
Dr Andrew was so deep in his thoughts that the voice of the old lady (Susan Morgan’s mother) surprised him. She informed him that her daughter didn’t want him to give her chloroform if it would harm the baby. Dr Andrew replied that it would do no harm. Just then he heard the midwife’s voice. It was half-past three and Dr Andrew perceived that it was time for him to start working on the delivery.

The Horrifying Dilemma
After a harsh struggle for an hour, the child was born, a perfectly formed boy. Unfortunately, it was not breathing. A shiver of horror passed over Dr Andrew. He had promised the family so much. He wanted to resuscitate the child, but the mother herself was in a very desperate state. He gave the child to the midwife and turned his attention to Susan Morgan, the mother, who was lying unconscious. Her pulse was slow and her strength was reducing.

After a few minutes of continuous efforts, he stabilised her by giving her an injection. Then he asked for the child. The midwife had kept the child under the bed, presuming him to be dead. Dr Andrew pulled out the child. His head was hanging loosely and the limbs seemed boneless. He concluded that the child was suffering from asphyxia pallida (an abnormal medical condition in a newly born baby).

Dr Andrew’s Efforts to Save the Child
Dr Andrew recalled a case he had once seen in the Samaritan (a medical journal) and the treatment that was given. He asked the midwife to quickly get hot water and cold water in two bowls.

He started plunging the child once into the icy water and then into the steaming bath alternately. Fifteen minutes passed and nothing happened. Dr Andrew was getting frustrated. He could see the unbelieving faces of the midwife and the old lady but he continued his efforts.

The Miracle
Dr Andrew started rubbing the child’s chest with a rough towel and thumping his little chest, trying to get breath into that limp body.

Then, as if by miracle, the child’s chest began moving. Dr Andrew felt weak and nervous at the site of life springing under his hands. He redoubled his efforts and the child was now breathing. Life came to his limbs, head became erect, the child’s skin started turning pink and suddenly the child cried.

The midwife exclaimed with tears of happiness in her eyes, ‘Oh God, he has come alive.’

Dr Andrew is Relieved
After so much frantic effort and success, Dr Andrew felt weak and speechless. The old woman, Susan’s mother, was still standing against the wall, praying.

Andrew went downstairs and told that he would fetch his bag later on. He found Joe Morgan still waiting with an anxious, eager face. Dr Andrew gave the happy news that both the mother and the baby were all right.

Andrew was really happy and exclaimed, ‘Oh God, I’ve done something real at last.’ He had achieved a feat in medical history which would certainly brighten his future.

Birth Chapter Highlights

  • Dr Andrew was a young medical graduate who worked as an assistant to Dr Edward Page in a small Welsh mining town, Blaenelly.
  • Dr Andrew was returning home after a disappointing evening with his girlfriend Christine,
  • Dr Andrew found Joe Morgan, anxious and scared, waiting for him.
  • Joe Morgan informed him that the doctor was needed at their home as his wife was in labour before the expected date. This was to be their first child in a marriage of nearly twenty years.
  • When they reached the house, Dr Andrew realised that he would have to wait some time; so he decided to wait downstairs.
  • Then Dr Andrew is called upstairs and starts his work. After an hour’s struggle, the child, a perfectly formed boy, was born lifeless.
  • Dr Andrew was horrified but continued his effort first to save the mother, whose energy was reducing.
  • After the mother was safe, his attention went to the child. He instinctively decides to revive the child.
  • Dr Andrew quickly diagnoses the most probable cause for the still birth i.e. asphyxia pallida.
  • Dr Andrew recalls a method he had once read about by which such a child had been successfully saved.
  • Dr Andrew tries alternate hot and cold water treatment to revive the child’s breath.
  • Dr Andrew then rubbed the baby’s body with a rough towel, crushing and releasing the chest.
  • A medical miracle happens. The child finally breathes. Dr Andrew redoubles his efforts till the child cries.
  • After handing over the baby to the midwife, Dr Andrew left the house. He realised that he had truly saved a life that night, fulfilling the purpose of his profession.
  • For the first time Dr Andrew felt that he had done something ‘real’, something worthwhile.

Birth Word Meanings

Word – Meaning
excerpt – extract
medical practice – work as a doctor
welsh – in Wales
mining town – a town where most people work in a coal mine
disappointing – unhappy
surgery – operating room
burly – large and strong
driller – a miner who uses a drill machine
missus – wife (informal)
ye – you
before time – the delivery is going to be before the due date
contemplation of – thinking about
mystery – secrecy
perceptive – energetic
premonition – idea
drew up short – stopped
strain – tiredness
stout – strongly built
midwife – woman trained to help in childbirth
bach – dear
leave the case – not stay till the delivery was completed
fret – worry
overwrought – very tired
snatch – take
lethargy of spirit – lack of enthusiasm
cinder – partly burnt piece of coal
grate – fireplace
paced – walked slowly
muddled – mixed up
obsessed him – dominated his thinking
morbidly – negatively
sordidly – unpleasantly
shrewish – quarrelsome
reason – reasoning
dismal – disappointing
wince – feel pain
idyllic – perfect
otherwise – differently
admitted – allowed
level, doubting – reasonably doubtful
overflowing – full of emotions
broodingly – worryingly
started – jerked suddenly
addressed – talked to
meditation – thinking
pursued a different course – followed a different line of thought
awful set upon – very much wanting
ay – yes
fancy – believe
collected – calmed
top landing – top of the stairs
perceived – realised
elapsed – passed
harsh – hard
streaks of dawn – light of morning
strayed past – came through
blind – sunshade
still form – lifeless body
torn between – feeling two opposing thoughts
resuscitate – bring back to life
desperate – critical
dilemma – choice
instinctively – without thinking
collapsed – unconscious
pulseless – not having the pulse of life
not yet out of the ether – not become conscious
frantic – agitated
ebbing – receding
glass ampoule – sealed glass capsule with liquid medicine
hypodermic syringe – needle used to inject liquid medicine in the bloodstream
unsparingly – without a break
flaccid – lifeless
strengthened – started beating properly
in his shirt sleeves – in only his shirt without a jacket over it
brow – forehead
frightened gesture – indication with fear
in a flash – immediately
fishing – searching
sodden – soaked
tallow – animal fat
cord – umbilical cord connecting the mother to the child in her womb
of a lovely texture – with a wonderful feel
lolled – hung loosely
haggard frown – worried and tried look
asphyxia pallida – an abnormal medical condition in a newly born baby who appears pale and limp, temporarily unable to breathe and having a slow heart action
the Samaritan – name of a medical journal
threw out – spoke quickly
basins – large bowls
pallid – pale
respiration – breathing
ewer – a large jug with a wide mouth
frantically – desperately
Word – Meaning
crazy juggler – madman moving the child quickly
raging hopelessness – fierce disappointment
stark – evident
consternation – feeling of anxiety
longing – desiring
dashed away – finished
draggled – dirty and wet
stumbling – tripping over
sopping – drenched
whimpered – spoke in a crying tone
stillborn – born dead
heed – listen to
crushing – squeezing
limp – motionless
by a miracle – mysteriously
pigmy – small
convulsive – jerky
heave – gasp
turned giddy – became weak
unavailing – ineffective
exquisite – enjoyable
gasping – breathing hard
mucus – viscous liquid
iridescent – sparkling
spinelessly – loosely
blanched – pale
hysterically – uncontrollably
shuddering litter – total mess
soiled – dirty
impaled – stuck
scullery – room for washing dishes
expectant – hopeful
thickly – in a hard to understand tone
spent – tired
footfalls – sounds made by feet while walking
oblivious – unaware

What is the summary of the birth?

The story is an extract from The Citadel. Moreover, it narrates how a medical fresher handles a case of child delivery. Also, in a secretive way, he gets back living in an apparently dead child. He applies all his medical knowledge and instincts for doing so.

What is birth explanation?

(Entry 1 of 3) 1a : the emergence of a new individual from the body of its parent. b : the act or process of bringing forth young from the womb. 2 : a state resulting from being born especially at a particular time or place a Southerner by birth.

What is the theme of the story birth?

The theme of the story is about a young doctor, Andrew dealing with a critical birth case. The baby is born lifeless. He takes certain decisions that prove quite successful. Not only he succeeds in saving the mother who is in critical condition after the delivery, but also succeeds in reviving the child.

What is the author of Chapter birth?

Birth Summary in English and Hindi Pdf. Birth is written by A.J. Cronin. Learncram.com has provided Birth extra questions and answers pdf, theme, class 11 english Birth summary in hindi, analysis, line by line explanation, note making, ppt, lesson plan, class 11 ncert solutions.

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