Can a Trans Woman Get Pregnant?

Amanda Valentine Dela Cruz February 24, 2021

This post was last updated on October 3, 2023.

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Many people who are not adept with transgender and gender identity terminologies often get confused. Added to that confusion comes the question of the existence of a pregnant transgender woman. For you to have a better understanding of today’s topic, you first must have an idea of the basic transgender terminologies.

Transgender Terminologies

This is often the culprit of miscommunication. It’s vital for you to at least know the fundamentals.

Transgender Man

A transgender man is a man who was assigned female at birth. His reproductive system is what’s considered functional as a female unless he chooses to medically or surgically transition.

Transgender Woman

A transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Her reproductive system is what’s considered functional as a male unless she chooses to medically or surgically transition.

Now that you know the terminologies word per word, it’s time for your question in regards to transgender pregnancy answered.

Does A Pregnant Transgender Woman Exist?

As of 2021, there’s no scientific proof of an existing pregnant trans woman. However, there are studies that transgender pregnancy for trans women is possible which will be discussed in the latter part of the article so keep reading.

A Transgender Woman Can’t be Pregnant

Right now, science only affords transgender women to medically and surgically transition to achieve a feminine look. They can also achieve sexual satisfaction with the current surgeries available today. However, what they can’t do for now is to get pregnant.

“Male” Reproductive System

The reason being is because they still have “male” reproductive systems that don’t naturally allow them to carry a child. This goes the same for cisgender men not having the possibility of carrying a child in the near future.

Naturally, a zygote is created when the sperm successfully penetrates the egg cell.
Once this happens, the zygote enters stages which helps turn it into an embryo then eventually, a fetus.
This fetus grows inside the uterus (womb), which only cisgender females or transgender males are born with and that transgender females don’t have.

Added to that, if they want to naturally conceive based on the current standards, they will need an ovary to produce egg cells. Fallopian tubes are also required in order to ensure that the eggs they produce will be fertile.

Does A Pregnant Man Exist?

If you stumbled upon here because you’ve searched for trans men pregnant, you’re in luck because he exists. Furthermore, a trans man can achieve pregnancy naturally because his anatomy doesn’t restrict him as it does with transgender women.

A Transgender Man Can Get Pregnant

If a transgender man has not undergone a hysterectomy and his reproductive system is still capable of carrying a child, he will be able to conceive without problems naturally.

What brought the reality that a man can get pregnant into the light was Thomas Beatie’s story. He gained a lot of media attention after his article, which shared his experiences as a pregnant transgender man, was published in the LGBT magazine The Advocate.

Thomas Beatie’s Pregnancy

Beatie, one of the popular transgender men who experienced pregnancy after female to male gender transitioning, has already undergone gender reassignment surgery and a double mastectomy in 2002. He has already been living as a man and his legal documents already say male. He married his wife Nancy Gillespie, in 2003.

In 2005, they decided to start a family. Because they both have “female” reproductive systems, they’ve decided to undergo artificial insemination. However, Gillespie already had her uterus removed from hysterectomy which is why Beatie gave birth to their child.

Because Beatie’s female reproductive system is still intact, he was able to successfully conceive their baby.

“Female” Reproductive System

Like many other transgender men, Beatie still had a “female” reproductive system despite having a very masculine look. This is why a lot of transgender men can still get pregnant.

As long as they have:

a fully functional ovary
an uterus
a fallopian tube
and more

They will easily be able to carry children with the help of artificial insemination or through sexual intercourse.

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Transgender Pregnancy Challenges

Scientifically, this kind of pregnancy is quite easy to fathom. However, in reality, achieving this feat can be challenging for most trans-oriented couples. Below is a list of the most blockages that are stopping transgender people to have biological children.

Most Transgender Individuals Prefer Cisgender Partners

This poses a challenge because couples like these are the norm. There is nothing wrong with this kind of setup but it does open many opportunities to hinder a couple of sharing a biological child.

Most transgender women prefer cisgender men and most transgender women prefer cisgender women. Because couples like these share the same reproductive system, they won’t be able to naturally create a child.

This is why a lot of couples like this often adopt or raise a child that’s only biologically connected to one party.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Hormone replacement therapy or HRT is beneficial to transgender people’s mental health. It helps in treating a transgender individual’s gender dysphoria. It also makes it possible for a transgender individual to achieve the physical aspects that they want to achieve.

However, medically transitioned individuals may have low- quality sperm cells or egg cells. An inefficient cell will not be capable of creating a child. This is why when Thomas Beatie decided to create and carry his, he stopped all of his testosterone therapy.

Gender Reassignment Surgery

Some surgeries are irreversible and this is why doctors recommend trans people who want to have their own biological children to pause their plans for the moment.

A transgender woman who will undergo gender reassignment surgery will have her testes removed. Because of this, she will not be capable of producing sperm cells anymore.

Meanwhile, a lot of transgender men undergo a hysterectomy to reduce their hormone intake and to get rid of the possibility of menstruating. If they get their ovaries removed, they will no longer be able to produce egg cells.

Finances

Many transgender people are not comfortable with creating a child naturally. This is because it entails them, using their genitals. A lot of them don’t want to do anything that involves their current genitalia as it enhances their gender dysphoria and makes them feel very uncomfortable.

Because of this, their only option is artificial insemination and surrogacy. These services are quite expensive which blocks a trans person from having his/her biological child.

Starting A Trans-oriented Family

Not because there are more problems means that there are no solutions. Below are some of the scenarios which make it very easy for trans-oriented couples to start a family.

However, please know that these do not apply to all trans individuals. At the end of the day, they should still be with someone based on love and not because of children.

Transgender Plus Transgender Coupling

A lot of transgender men are seeking transgender women. Some of them are strategically targeting each other in order to start a family with no problems. As long as they both agree to maintain their reproductive systems up to par with creating a child, they’ll find starting a family a breeze.

Marrying Someone Who Already Has A Child

Many maternal transgender women are open to the opportunity of raising the child of their cisgender male partner. A lot of them don’t find the need to go through the hassle of other methods. Furthermore, they also find comfort in the fact that they are extending their love for the person who matters most to them.

Adoption

If couples don’t have ways in creating a biological child together, they can always adopt. The world has too many orphans yearning for parental love. Giving them a chance in life is always a wise and noble option.