What was the child suffering from? What treatment did Andrew applied?
In the story Birth by A.J. Cronin, Dr. Andrew had delivered a stillborn baby that had suffered asphyxia, pallida, which is suffocation or unconscious condition caused by lack of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide in the blood, accompanied by paleness of the skin, weak pulse, and loss of reflexes.
Seeing the baby Dr. Andrew was reminded of a case he had once witnessed in the Samaritan, and the treatment that had been used there. He instantly got into action and sent the nurse to fetch hot and cold water along with basins. Snatching a blanket, he laid the child upon it and began the special method of respiration. After the basins, the ewer and the big iron kettle arrived, he splashed cold water into one basin and into the other he mixed water as hot as his hand could bear. Then he hurriedly plunged the child once into the icy and then into the steaming bath, repeating the process. When there was no response in the baby’s body even after half and hour of continuing this process and a sense of a raging hopelessness was beginning to set in, he gave one last effort by rubbing the child with a rough towel, crushing and releasing the little chest with both his hands, trying to get breath into the limp body. Suddenly as by a miracle the little chest started heaving and before long the child started breathing.
Seeing the baby Dr. Andrew was reminded of a case he had once witnessed in the Samaritan, and the treatment that had been used there. He instantly got into action and sent the nurse to fetch hot and cold water along with basins. Snatching a blanket, he laid the child upon it and began the special method of respiration. After the basins, the ewer and the big iron kettle arrived, he splashed cold water into one basin and into the other he mixed water as hot as his hand could bear. Then he hurriedly plunged the child once into the icy and then into the steaming bath, repeating the process. When there was no response in the baby’s body even after half and hour of continuing this process and a sense of a raging hopelessness was beginning to set in, he gave one last effort by rubbing the child with a rough towel, crushing and releasing the little chest with both his hands, trying to get breath into the limp body. Suddenly as by a miracle the little chest started heaving and before long the child started breathing.