'I didn’t believe I could get pregnant when on testosterone': Rochdale man gives birth to baby boy after shock pregnancy

12.03.2022 - 11:01 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

A trans man has described his shock at becoming pregnant and his life as a 'seahorse dad'.

Ryan Sanderson, 24, was nine weeks into his female to male transition when he learned that he was pregnant.

The drama student was stunned by the news as he believed his ex partner was infertile, but immediately paused hormone treatments in so that he could give birth to his son, Hendrick, who is now two.

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The dad-of-one says had struggled with his gender identity for as long as he could remember and had difficulty with body dysphoria throughout the pregnancy.

He did not think it was possible to get pregnant while on testosterone, and believes it should be more widely known that it is possible.

Yet, he was proud to give birth to his son as a 'seahorse dad' - so-called because male seahorses carries babies. Now, with help from his mum, Ryan is raising his small family.

“I didn’t believe I could get pregnant when on testosterone, until I found out that I was," Ryan said.

"I think more trans-men need to understand that they can get pregnant. I ended up finding out during a doctors visit, that I was ten weeks pregnant after being on testosterone for nine weeks.

“It was a huge shock to the system, but even though I was worried about what coming off of testosterone may do to my body dysmorphia, I knew instantly that I wanted to have the baby.

“My ex-partner was under the impression that he was infertile, but that wasn’t the case. I’d struggled for so long to become my true self and had even had to go with a private GP in order to get testosterone."

Ryan explained that he knew he was male since the age of seven, and came out at 19. He feels it was his 'fate' to become