Labor of Love

When I finally
got pregnant for the first time, I ended up having an
ectopic pregnancy with triplets. It was a life-threatening
event that required surgical intervention, resulting
in the loss of all embryos and my right fallopian
tube. When my brother found out about my loss, he
said, “It’s a good thing that happened. Who
knows what kind of monster it would have been.”

On successfully
getting pregnant a second time, we are proud to announce
that this pregnancy is free of complications and our baby
girl has a clean bill of health. We are happily
awaiting her birth, with an estimated due date of July
3, 2008.

How does it feel
to be a pregnant man? Incredible. Despite the fact that
my belly is growing with a new life inside me, I am stable
and confident being the man that I am. In a technical
sense I see myself as my own surrogate, though my
gender identity as male is constant. To Nancy, I am
her husband carrying our child—I am so lucky to have
such a loving, supportive wife. I will be my
daughter’s father, and Nancy will be her
mother. We will be a family.

Outside the local
medical community, people don’t know I’m five
months’ pregnant. But our situation ultimately
will ask everyone to embrace the gamut of human
possibility and to define for themselves what is normal.