The journey to parenthood for transgender individuals is unique and can come with its own set of challenges. We want to share some nuggets of wisdom from a recent essay written by K Surkan; it delves into experiences of trans men who have navigated pregnancy, highlighting the importance of visibility, support, and breaking down traditional gender norms.

This May, researchers out of Michigan released a study analyzing nearly 2,000 transgender pregnancies, comparing them to cisgender pregnancies to identify differences between the two groups!

TL;DR: The transgender patients studied were more likely to have chronic conditions and had lower rates of births by cesarean than their cisgender counterparts. No differences were found in rates of preterm delivery or severe parental morbidity.

A study released earlier this year documented nine transgender women in the Netherlands and Australia as they paused hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in order to create mature sperm. By 17 weeks, or nearly four months, all individuals were able to produce spermatozoa (mature sperm cells). And three of the four trans women who stopped HRT to conceive at home with a partner were able to do so.

As a certified trans fertility nerd™, I have all kinds of Google news alerts set for trans fertility topics. This means I receive a near-constant stream of notifications telling me about new studies, articles, and papers being published on the subject. I’m a non-academic, so I’ve had to learn the hard way that not all research is created equal. How can you make sense of the many pieces of information created right now? Here’s a quick guide to help!

Here is an interview with Corinne, a transgender mother of three who realized her gender identity while serving in the military overseas. Watch as Corinne explains how she planned her medical transition with her and her wife’s family goals in mind. Corinne also talks about how her marriage evolved through her gender transition and how her children have adapted to the change.

Roughly 12% of transgender men have terminated a pregnancy, which is just under the national average. Trans people may choose abortion for many different reasons, and have many options available as they make their decision. Read more about what resources are available for transgender people considering abortion.

Here is an interview with Corinne, a transgender mother of three who realized her gender identity while serving in the military overseas. Watch as Corinne explains how she planned her medical transition with her and her wife’s family goals in mind. Corinne also talks about how her marriage evolved through her gender transition and how her children have adapted to the change.

In this video produced in partnership with FertilityIQ, Bran shares his pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum journey. He describes what it was like to change providers midway through his pregnancy, how he self-advocated with his medical team, why he hired a doula, and how being a Black transgender man impacted his entire process.

More trans people are publicly out and having families of their own, inspiring others to do the same. This increased visibility is likely to prompt fertility care providers to realize that this kind of care needs to become standard. The difficult part will be figuring out how to make that care accessible to everyone.

Although many options are available, the majority of trans youth do not end up preserving their fertility. We simply don’t know enough yet about whether these youth will have regrets about their decision, but the authors of this 2017 study draw parallels to the millions of adults who experience infertility and identify that struggles with fertility cause multiple negative psychosocial impacts.

On average, transgender women want to become parents at the same rates of other LGBTQ+ people, yet there are still so many questions about trans fertility. While we keep pushing for more data and research, it’s important to continue to learn, educate, and work together; helping us get closer to building happy, thriving families.

Countering many myths about egg health and testosterone, this 2019 Boston IVF study found that egg quality and quantity (in addition to other variables around pregnancy and egg harvesting) were the same between transgender men and cisgender women.

Going into transition, or even after, fertility can seem like an afterthought. But the decisions made throughout transition can have lasting impacts on fertility. We break down the important decisions you'll need to make about fertility preservation and reproductive options, balancing that with the desire for various steps in gender-affirming transitions. We also cover resiliency strategies with tactical steps you can take to advocate for yourself during the process.

Going into transition, or even after, fertility can seem like an afterthought. But the decisions made throughout transition can have lasting impacts on fertility. We break down the important decisions you'll need to make about fertility preservation and reproductive options, balancing that with the desire for various steps in gender-affirming transitions. We also cover resiliency strategies with tactical steps you can take to advocate for yourself during the process.

In this workshop, trans educator Trystan Reese covers several aspects of trans fertility, including the impacts of hormones on fertility and lactation, information on fertility preservation, myths and facts on trans pregnancy, and more!