Chapter 7 Birth | class 11th | Chapterwise Important Question  for Snapshot English

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. Why was Andrew so serious and tense that evening?
 
Ans. That evening Andrew was tense and serious. He had a disappointing evening with his girlfriend Christine. Moreover, he had 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 tense and waiting 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’s whole future in Blaenelly. What miraculous thing happened that 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 tense that night?
 
Ans. Susan was in labour after 20 years of marriage. It was natural for her and her husband Joe to be tense. Susan’s old mother also stood beside her tense and hopeful.

Q5. Susan’s mother was wise in experience. What hints did she 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 childbirth would take some time. She was wise enough to fear that Dr. Andrew might not wait for long. So she tried to make him stay by offering him tea and sitting beside him.

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 tense 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.