Summary of chapter the birth

'Birth' is the account of Andrew Manson, doctor and ssistant to Dr. Edward Page at the Welsh mining town of Blaenelly. The story begins with him meeting Joe Morgan, a driller, at the steps of his surgery - his pregnant wife being in need of urgent attention. At the Morgan household, besides Mrs. Morgan he finds her elderly mother and the midwife. During the long wait, his mind is occupied with thoughts of marriage - his unrest resulting from his overwhelming love for Christine and the idyllic marriage that he envisioned with her and his rational mind which saw the failed marriages and relationships around him. When, later, he helps birth the baby - it is stillborn. After reviving the mother, he turns to the child. The nurse had put it away - a boy - believing that it was beyond any help. Andrew orders her to arrange for hot and cold water; and after half an hour of alternatively plunging the baby into ice cold and steaming baths - he restores life into it. The midwife and the grandmother taking it to be a miracle, he himself leaves the house jubilant. "I have done something real at last", he says to himself.