'Pregnant man' speaks out

By Iain Mackenzie
Newsbeat US reporter

Thomas and his wife appeared on Oprah Winfrey

A transgender man who claims he is six months pregnant has spoken out on US television.

Following last week's revelation that American Thomas Beatie is expecting a child, he and his wife have appeared on TV.

The couple revealed that Thomas had conceived by artificial insemination, carried out by Nancy in their own home.

Speaking on the Oprah Winfrey Show, she said: "I went to the vet. I asked for a syringe, without a needle. They gave us one and I got our container of sperm."

The sperm was provided by an anonymous donor.

Male hormones

Although Thomas is considered male in the eyes of the law, he was born a woman - making the story more of a social curiousity than a biological miracle.

Once a teenage beauty queen, Thomas underwent breast removal and started taking male hormones to give him facial hair.

However he still clung on to the dream of giving birth.

"I actually opted not to do anything to my reproductive organs," he told Oprah.

"I wanted to have a child one day. I didn't know how. It was just a dream. There was no plan laid out, but we had a lot of different options and I wasn't going to go there."

Thomas also spoke of the opposition he and Nancy have encountered over the past six months.

The couple say they were refused medical assistance by eight different doctors, before finding an obstetrician who would help with the pregnancy.

And there was resistance from the transgendered community when the news of the pregnancy first broke.

Maternal instinct

He added: "They said 'This isn't a good idea'. You shouldn't go on Oprah. The world isn't ready for this."

While many of Oprah's audience members looked bemused by the story, there was support from family members. Nancy's two daughters from a previous marriage spoke of their admiration for their mother and Thomas.

Quizzed about their roles after the birth of their child, Thomas and Nancy said they would be sticking to the current set-up, with Thomas as the dad.

He rejected suggestions that pregnancy might reawaken his maternal instinct.

I see pregnancy as a process and it doesn't define who I am Thomas Beatie

Thomas added: "I have very stable male gender identity. I see pregnancy as a process and it doesn't define who I am."

He is due to give birth in three months time.

Asked about potential health risks to the unborn child, the couple's doctor said she was confident there would be no problems.

Dr Kimberly James said: "Thomas has been off testosterone for two years before even trying to conceive. At this time his testosterone levels are normal. I consider this an average pregnancy."