Trans father gives birth to a son
The case of Daniel Masch recently attracted media attention. Mr. Masch is a trans father and gave birth to a son after a long and complicated pregnancy. He is proud to have made it and reports about the difficult but also beautiful time.
What is a transfather, anyway?
Trans, or in Daniel’s case trans father, is the term used to describe people who feel they are the wrong gender. Experts estimate that about one in two hundred people feel trans (short for transgender). Transwomen were born men, but feel that they are supposed to be women. Trans men, like Daniel, were born as girls but want to live as men. A number of complicated processes are required to change the sex officially documented at birth. The process is called transition and can perhaps best be translated as transformation.
What happened to Daniel and how did he become a trans father?
Daniel was born a girl. With the onset of puberty, he quickly realized that he didn’t want to be a girl. He began to feel and act like a man, even though he was physically a woman or a girl. As time went on, he undertook the complicated legal process of changing his name, the legal part of the transition, so to speak. The trans father was torn. On the one hand he bandaged his breasts to look like a man, on the other hand he didn’t take testosterone. The male hormone promotes the transformation of the female into a male body. For example, it causes the whiskers to grow and the voice to become deeper. Experts recommended that the trans father hold off on hormone therapy because it could be harmful if he became pregnant.
What’s the deal with Daniel’s pregnancy?
Daniel’s son came into the world in 2015. The trans father was one of the few people with this status who went through a pregnancy. Other trans fathers therefore expressed their admiration and respect for him. Today, Daniel still lives with his son’s father, even though he now feels more and more like a man. Despite (or even because of) his status, Daniel was a good mother. However, the trans father did not have it easy, as he met with little understanding with his status as trans. Therefore, he did not take part in courses to prepare for the birth, although he would have particularly needed the help and support that pregnant women receive there. However, he was not discouraged, but prepared himself.
A difficult pregnancy and birth
Pregnancy was very challenging for the trans father. Many a time he was at the end of his strength and nerves. Actually, it went completely against Daniel’s intentions. He also wanted to become a man on the outside, but his body produced female hormones without end during that time. It speaks highly of Daniel’s character that he took this strain for the good of the child and put his own needs as a trans father aside and waited to transition.
That the birth was difficult would be an understatement. It lasted 4 days! The staff of the clinic already wanted to give up and were preparing for a caesarean section because the child’s blood oxygen levels were dangerously low. However, Daniel managed to convince the midwife to wait after all. He managed a small miracle and was able to give birth to his son naturally. By the way, in the clinic he made the acquaintance of a midwife who was very interested in him being a trans father.
How it went after the birth
Actually, Daniel wanted to start his biological transition after the birth and undergo a mastectomy. During this procedure, the breasts are removed. As part of the surgery, he also wanted to have his ovaries and uterus removed. However, in the interest of the child, the trans father postponed the procedure. He decided to breastfeed his son. At first it was only supposed to be for a month, then it became three, then six months, and in the end a whole year. It wasn’t until after he stopped breastfeeding that he started taking male hormones to encourage his sex change. After that, it took another three years for Daniel to have the procedure done.
How’s Daniel’s son doing now?
The little one attends kindergarten at the moment. He is childishly aware of the unusual situation that his trans father brought him into the world. He has already been mocked by the other children for not having a mother, but instead having two fathers. One day he will learn that his trans father is his biological mother.
What does this account of Trans Father Daniel show?
It shows the strengths and weaknesses of the company. Just a few years ago, transgender people were officially discriminated against. If they wanted to undergo sex reassignment surgery, that automatically meant forced sterilization. Fortunately, that has changed today. Today, even a trans father has the right to get pregnant and bring the child into the world.
On the negative side, however, it must be noted that Daniel’s case is still a major exception. While there are trans fathers who have children, the birth almost always occurred before the sex change. Most trans fathers of childbearing age are reluctant to experience pregnancy and childbirth. In many cases there is also little understanding in the social environment. Trans men and women always have to listen to stupid remarks or are shunned. Luckily, trans dad Daniel has a husband who sticks by him, loves him, and he can count on. On this basis, the trans father is able to face the future with composure. Together, the unusual family will definitely make it.
Photo: Miguel Ferraz Araújo
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