Fertility doc says pregnant man case not abnormal

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Fertility doc says pregnant man case not abnormal

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Canada AM: Dr. Tom Hannam, fertility doctor

While the sight of a seemingly male person pregnant seemed awkward to many, the insemination and delivery process of Thomas Beatie was a relatively standard affair.

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CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Fri. Jul. 4 2008 10:52 AM ET

A Canadian fertility doctor is breaking a widely sensationalized story down to science basics, saying the experience of the so-called pregnant man who reportedly gave birth to a healthy baby girl last Sunday, is just a simple medical case.

Thomas Beatie, a 34-year-old who began life as a woman but underwent hormone therapy to become a man, reportedly gave birth to a girl, according to People magazine and ABC News

Toronto fertility doctor Dr. Tom Hannam suggests although the details surrounding the parent may be unusual, the birth process was anything but.

"When you meet a patient who wants to become pregnant, the first thing you would do is just make sure that they would be healthy enough to carry a pregnancy through to term and anticipate a healthy baby," Hannam told CTV's Canada AM on Friday.

"And in this man's case, he was born a woman and had been on hormones, but he'd stopped them for about two years before even attempting this. So from a medical perspective it's actually quite straightforward. He was quite healthy."

Beatie still has female reproductive organs and stopped taking his twice-weekly doses of testosterone ahead of his pregnancy. He said it was a natural birth, rather than by C-section.

"The only thing different about me is that I can't breastfeed my baby. But a lot of mothers don't," he told People. Beatie had his breasts removed as part of his transition to a man.

The ABC News report said that the baby girl was born on June 29 at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Ore.

Beatie decided to carry the baby because his wife, 46-year-old Nancy, could not become pregnant. She had a hysterectomy as a result of endometriosis.

He was impregnated at home through artificial insemination, using donor sperm and his own eggs, according to People.

Hannam said that in Canada, the Assisted Human Reproduction Act requires that prospective parents who want to undergo fertility treatments also get counselling.

However, if Beatie had been subject to Canadian reproductive laws, he wouldn't have been excluded from the process of becoming a parent, despite the fact that reports say many doctors refused to treat him.

"Counselling, at the moment, is looking more towards what's best for the person who's going to deliver," said Hannam, director of the Hannam Fertility Centre in Toronto. "It's not a tool of judgement. They're not using it to elect who should become a parent and who should not."

Beatie, known in tabloids as the "Pregnant Man," made an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" last April. He told Winfrey he started his sex-reassignment process about 10 years ago.

He is legally a man and lives with his wife in Oregon, where they operate a T-shirt printing business.

Comments are now closed for this story

Keith
said

Re:

"To those who wish to make a big deal of this, let us know when someone with XY chromosomes actually gets pregnant, THEN and only then, will it be newsworthy."

Actually, this happens regularly. While most women have XX chromosomes, there are some instances where individuals with XY chromosomes are born anatomically (and reproductively) female.

It would, however, be newsworthy if someone had been born anatomically male and yet became pregnant...

Albert
said

What is the "legal" definition of a man? By all accounts that I can see, this is a woman taking medication and pretending to be a man. Is that all it takes to legally change your gender? That is more newsworthy than having a baby.

Jodi
said

It sounds (reads) to me like many of you are missing the point - the child(ren) will not be confused as that is the environment they will be exposed to and therefore think it normal. Unfortunately, it's similar to children raised in abusive environments - they don't know any better and often think it's normal or okay.
This couple is no different than gay couples raising children. Having been raised in not the most loving environment and knowing my mother did not want us, I would choose these parents who obviously do want children any day of the week. The fact that they went through so much shows how much they want a child. A caring and loving environment is the best environment for all children. That is what matters.

Mickey
said

Steve you sound like someone from the sixties talking about interracial babies and their birds with birds and bees with bees viewpoint. When we have so many babes being raised by moms with several kids and she doesn't even know who the various fathers of her offspring are, is what I had in mind. That has become a norm in our society that is far more harmful than this.

emily
said

I think this person should have had children first while she still physically looked like a woman. Society is very cruel and imagine when this child is teased at school that the person who gave birth to her was a man. We need to think about the consequences of our actions, how they will impact our children in the future. Psychologically, how is this child going to be like? I am not judgmental here but this got me thinking if you feel you are a man how come you have a biological need to have a child?

Jacqueline
said

I do not think we needed a fertility doctor to tell us this is normal. Thomas Beatie has female parts because he was born female. He acts as a man now and looks like a man. I am not sure why this couple went public. They seem like nice people. Why not get on with their lives in private.

Exiled Canadian
said

Nice try Vanessa but the fact remains that this is a woman.

This is not intolerance. This is calling a duck what it is: a duck.

Mike
said

My question here is who is the father? I would think his wife can't produce sperm and with the sex change and the fact that he/she still has female parts, that he/she did not produce the sperm, so who is the father and what are his thoughts on this whole situation? Would he have donated knowing that the end result was a woman trying to be a man?

DM in NB
said

"...Unlike many here posting, I do like to learn before passing judgement...."

Are you for real?

If you want to LEARN something, learn the definition of male and female. This was clearly a female. Not getting organs transplanted because she CHOSE "not to pay for it" does not make her male.

There is no "thinking beyond" needed here, only middle-school level biology. XY = male, XX = female. A female gave birth, big deal. Next story, please...

Vanessa C
said

It still never ceases to amaze me the level of not only intolerance, but the inability to see past ancient societal standards and definitions. Just because one is not born a man, or a woman, that does not mean that they are not. Learn to think beyond. And it is not unnatural at all, transsexuals have been documented throughout history, not just in the 20th and 21st centuries people.

And if you do research on the subject of a female to male transition, you will find out that the surgery for them is far more expensive for a male to female, and it is not as effective, often the results are not good at all. Suggest this site: www.grsmontreal.com and you can learn a little.

While most male to females will get the NEEDED surgery, female to males often do not simply because of the reasons stated.

Unlike many here posting, I do like to learn before passing judgement.

Ruth
said

This is not a pregnant man. This is a WOMAN who has had hormone treatment. A "he" cannot have eggs. A "he" can only ever have sperm. That is part of the definition of being a "he."
The law cannot make you something you are not. No amount of government paperwork will ever make Beatie a man. She will always be a woman; at most she can make herself physically genderless (which, please note, she obviously did not do).

Steve
said

Sorry, the "loving parents" argument only goes so far. This poor child will live a confusing, screwed-up life because of the selfish desires of this man/woman. Not that he/she doesn't deserve to live his/her life as whatever gender he/she wants, but don't bring a child into your confused world. And don't use abusive or drug-addicted parents as your excuse. Sure, they are bad parents. But that doesn't mean everyone else is a good parent, or an appropriate parent.

LP
said

Thank you CTV for pointing out the truth.

THis is XX person having a child, nothing new here.

To those who wish to make a big deal of this, let us know when someone with XY chromosomes actually gets pregnant, THEN and only then, will it be newsworthy.

Sex change can be important psychologicaly, but physicaly, who cares! Many people do it. it still does not change them completely. This story is proof.

Mickey
said

Wow, I would like to be a fly on the wall to hear these parents explain where babies come from when the time is right! That is some complicated cabbage patch.
Just kidding I wish them all the best. Two loving devoted parents is more than many other kids get so this is pretty good in the grand scheme of things.

Ms. Carvalho
said

This person is a woman trying to be a man. The very fact that she still has female reproductive organs proves this. So technically a woman has given birth not a man.

Scott
said

She is not a man - she is a woman. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that a 'man' has given birth to a baby girl. This is just an another indication of the downward spiral of our society and what we see as acceptable behavior.

Stop the delusions folks, this is unatural behavior and it will have consequences.

JC McSween
said

Remember, this is a WOMAN who has decided to transition and live like a man. The hoop-la over being the first man to have a child is totally miss-leading. People can live their own lives within the bounds of Society, but to try and gain notoriety thru false-advertising is wrong. I have watched the person-in-question on Oprah and other shows, and still do not consider their personal choice to have a child, as the first man to give birth.

david
said

Sorry, this person is not a man--only women can physically have babies, so he is still a woman anatomically

John K
said

There obviously is a difference here between being a man legally and being a man biologically. In this case, nature didn't pay any attention to legalities. This 'man' is obviously a woman.