'Although I am not disposed to maintain that the being born in a workhouse is in itself the most fortunate and enviable circumstance that can possibly befall a human being, I do mean to say that in this particular instance it was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred.'

Q:
1. What does 'is in itself' here mean? Is 'be in oneself' a fixed usage?

2. Is 'the being born' a baby here?

3. Could you brief this sentence in your own words?

Thank you.

ps. This sentence is from paragraph3 of Chapter1of Oliver Twist by Dickens.

1) This is an expression that is usually used when expressing that a certain thing or situation, when taken all by itself, is not a certain way, but it IS that way given a set of circumstances to go with it. For example, "Chocolate is in itself not a bad thing, but when you eat too much of it, it can be very unhealthy." A more common form of this expression would be "in and of itself": "Chocolate in and of itself is not bad, but..."
2) "The being born in a workhouse" = Having been born in a workhouse. So this does not refer to a person, but rather to the act of being born in a workhouse.
3) Being born in a workhouse is not usually a good thing, but in this case, it was the best possible thing for Oliver Twist.