Blurred lines: A pregnant man’s tragedy tests gender notions

Doctors are reporting a tragic case of a hospital not acting urgently when a pregnant transgender man arrived in labor that ended in a stillbirth.

They say it shows the need to think beyond labels to provide the best care. There’s a similar danger of missing diseases such as sickle cell and cystic fibrosis that largely affect certain racial groups.

When he arrived at the hospital with severe abdominal pains, the patient told a nurse he was transgender and that a home pregnancy test was positive. The nurse noted he was obese and off blood pressure medicines. Hours later, doctors confirmed he was in labor, which ended in the stillbirth.

Where and when the case occurred was not revealed. It’s described in Wednesday’s New England Journal of Medicine.