Just Like Any Mother-to-Be

By JAMES BARRETT Consultant psychiatrist

THOMAS’S pregnancy will be just like any woman’s, except he won’t be able to breastfeed the baby.

Although legally male, Thomas appears to have kept his reproductive organs, making it possible for him to carry a child.

For his sex change he would have had a mastectomy and received testosterone injections to bring on male characteristics. In the UK we give patients a testosterone jab every month for life

It normally takes three months for the testosterone to have an effect and for periods to stop – making it impossible to get pregnant. Within six months, the patient will start to look like a man, and within a year he will be speaking with a deep voice and have the traits of a man.

What’s interesting is that Thomas was able to re-start his periods after stopping the testosterone injections.

It’s uncommon for the female hormone oestrogen to return and for the person to ovulate again – let alone fall pregnant.

It is also highly unusual for a woman who has undergone a sex change to become a man to actually WANT to get pregnant. Psychologically they usually wouldn’t want to as that’s something women do.

This is a highly unusual case – the first time I’ve heard of such a thing in 20 years of practice.

Dr James Barrett works at the National Gender Identity Clinic in Charing Cross

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