According to official figures from the NHS, over 17,000 British men were admitted to hospital for obstetric appointments (related to childbirth) and a further 20,000 have visited a midwife.
And these don’t include the other 8,000 ‘male mothers’ who pencilled in a meeting with their gynaecologist…
These figures aren’t an April Fools Day joke or a series of medical miracles – but embarrassing examples of a long list of data blunders recorded by the NHS, available on HESonline.
Discovered by doctors from the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, the mistakes have been highlighted and a letter written to the British Medical Journal.
It’s believed such errors have been made by inputing details using the wrong medical code. For example - typing ‘560’ for a midwife appointment, instead of ‘460’ for a specialist eye doctor booking.
Doctors from the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust have warned such typos could affect patients, as the system will assume the data is correct and therefore not commission the correct services.
The concerned doctors encouraged NHS data input employees to “examine the data being submitted by and about our services for unintentional innovation”.
And it wasn’t just the men who were affected by the data blunders – over 3,000 children and teens were noted as using geriatric services and more than 1,000 adults had been seen by a paediatric doctor, a specialist in children’s medical services.
Although scientists haven't yet enabled men to become pregnant, a British sex change man gave birth to a daughter in February and famous 'male mother' Thomas Beatie is ready for a hysterectomy after giving birth to three children.