In what's believed to be a first in India, a transgender couple in Kerala has announced that they are expecting a baby next month.
It is believed to be the first instance of a transgender man being pregnant and delivering a child in India.
Kerala-based dancer Ziya Paval took to Instagram and announced that her partner Zahhad is now eight months pregnant.
"We are about to realise my dream of becoming a mother and his dream of becoming a father. An eight-month-old foetus is now in (Zahhad's) belly...From what we came to know, this is the first trans man's pregnancy in India," Paval said in the Instagram post.
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Paval and Zahhad have been living together for the past three years. They were undergoing hormone therapy. However, Zahhad, who was transitioning to become a man, has stalled it to conceive a baby.
Zahhad was undergoing the process for breast removal surgery that was stopped for the pregnancy.
Paval has thanked her family and the doctors for their support.
Men and pregnancies
It's a common perception that only women can become pregnant but that's not the case. Trans-men can also become pregnent.
The key to pregnancy is for a person to have a uterus and ovaries. If a trans-man —who is transitioning from a biological woman to a man— has retained these organs, then he can become pregnant.
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Medical News Today explains, "A person who was born male and is living as a man cannot get pregnant. However, some transgender men and non-binary people can...Anyone who has a uterus and ovaries could become pregnant and give birth."
There is also the technique of uterine transplant, which involves transplanting a uterus into a person for the purpose of pregnancy. This technique is still highly experimental and dangerous. But it's a possibility that it might become more common in the future with advancement, notes Healthline.
Healthline says, "The first baby born from a transplanted uterus arrived in Sweden during October of 2014. While this procedure is still in its early experimental stages, several other babies have been born through this method...But many have begun to speculate that this procedure could also apply to transgender women and other AMAB (assigned male at birth) folks."
(With PTI inputs)
