Research into men becoming pregnant

[MrsSnippyPants]

Of course they are not men though are they? Think this might be an old story, but it popped up in my feed again today. It’s our friend Sally Hines again.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7929431/Taxpayers-fund-500-000-study-Britains-health-chiefs-improve-treatment-pregnant-men.html

Half a million quid to study how the NHS can serve half a dozen patients a decade better. I wonder how many years of life that would buy a cancer patient?

Doubtless the incisive mind of Sally Hines will come up with impressive results.

Is it referring to this project
transpregnancy.leeds.ac.uk/about/
The principle aims of the project are to:

• Consider the extent to which transmasculine practices of pregnancy and birth constitute an emergingsocio-demographic shift.
• Explore the ways in which transmasculine practices of pregnancy and birthbring new meanings to gendered and embodied identities.
• Analyse how transmasculine practices of pregnancy and birthspeak to issues of gendered, sexual and intimate citizenship.
• Evaluate transmasculine practices of pregnancy and birth in relation to‘best practice’ standards of health carefor trans people.
• Examine transmasculine practices of pregnancy and birth within the context of‘best practice’ standards in reproductive science and technology.

Beam me up Scottie.

Men can not become pregnant.

If someone has gender dysphoria then how could they possibly want to become pregnant - the most sex affirming act a woman can do!

How many young women who were put on blockers at the onset of puberty will even be capable of getting pregnant?

Surely the nedical treatment for a pregnant woman is the same regardlesd how a person identifies.

SH getting paid huge sums for a complete waste of time. Where has the money come from?

Men cannot become pregnant and no one actually thinks they can. We might politely nod but no one truly believes this horse shit, not if they were being truly honest.

Money better spent on dementia care of childhood cancer. Money better spent on childcare and elder care. Money better spent on Battersea cat and dog home if you ask me...

If they want to research "men" becoming pregnant they could at least do some follow up research into the mental health of resultant children who are going to grow up very confused at best.

And what about the fact that still black women are something like 4 times more likely to die in childbirth. Wheres the money to research and improve on that

If there are actual healthcare needs that transmen have that are different to every other person who can get pregnant (medication interactions seem like they might be a concern, for example), then sure, the NHS should look into those. If the "need" is to force NHS staff and/or other patients to pretend that they don't know the sex of the person who is pregnant then that is in fact a want, not a need, and thus a. not really a huge priority during a period where the NHS is struggling to fund actual healthcare and b. not really a reasonable expectation in the first place.

Any research into the risks of babies breastfed by people who are taking chemicals to make them ‘lactate’?

Money better spend on improving post natal care for woman who’ve had babies. Honestly 🙄

Money better spent on many many things. Why is pushing this - researchers? Who are supporting them or giving them grants?

If they are doing sensible research and looking at any possible impact of having testosterone for a few years before stopping and subsequently having a baby and maybe breastfeeding too, then sure, bring it on.

If it's going to waffle on about calling them paternity units instead of maternity units and midhusbands instead of midwives then it's all bollocks.

I’m wondering how I would have reacted if a man was in the bay next to me on the maternity ward. I’m not at my best when I’m stressed, sleep deprived and sore.

Earlier this month there was a three day Transpregnancy conference at Leeds and I followed the tweets (#transpregnancy).

transpregnancy.leeds.ac.uk/conference/conference-programme/

The main messages I took from the tweets before my head exploded were;

Transpregnancy is very much like any other pregnancy with potential for all the normal complications but worse due to language, dysphoria and psychological problems.

Advising Transmen to have hysterectomies as part of their transition is eugenics.

Language and practice should not be gendered e.g. the term Mother is outdated as it's not just women who give birth so all birthing people should be registered as the 'Parent'

Language and practice should not be gendered e.g. the term Mother is outdated as it's not just women who give birth so all birthing people should be registered as the 'Parent'

I'm sure staff walking on egg shells in the wards and birthing suites will have a really positive influence on the care received by the women

The number of trans people who give birth is quite low. Around 1 in 68 people have autism, probably more due to underdiagnosis in females. There has been little research into supporting pregnant women with autism (although plenty about how to prevent unborn children developing autism, which is quite hurtful). This funding seems disproportionate.

Bizarre when there is yet another hospital in the news where babies are dying unnecessarily

Yes Thingybob
As I put above. This is not a project about getting best care for a small group but about a complete paradigm shift in the concept and language of reproduction. I repeat:

• Consider the extent to which transmasculine practices of pregnancy and birth constitute an emerging socio-demographic shift.
• Explore the ways in which transmasculine practices of pregnancy and birth bring new meanings to gendered and embodied identities.
• Analyse how transmasculine practices of pregnancy and birth speak to issues of gendered, sexual and intimate citizenship.

transmasculine practices of pregnancy and birth

also known as complete and utter tripe.

It's painful to think that money, resources, and research are going into this when vital areas of women's health are neglected.

Do we need to reinvent the wheel (pregnancy care) just because men are now doing it? (eg those who are undergoing the pregnancy have a self perception that they are male?)

I can imagine that interactions of masculinizing hormones taken for transition, and side effects of these (eg vaginal atrophy) could be an important aspect of physiology, and the potential actions of these drugs with other pregnancy conditions eg preeclampsia may be significant aspects to study and monitor for effects on the parturient, their pregnancy and neonatal health. Also it would be interesting to know how and why these individuals who profess dysphoria and physically or medically transition choose to become pregnant including through the use of reproductive technology. These would be useful things to know in planning safe care around this group of patients.

Otherwise - the physical issues around labour, pain relief, induction, delivery, CS, instrumental delivery are very likely to follow the same pattern as every other birth, given that the human that is gestating, labouring and delivering that child into the world is, (dare I say it) like every other organism that has undertaken the task throughout mammalian evolution eg Female.
Sadly I suspect instead of us getting any useful data on risks, benefits and outcomes medically and perhaps an examination of the ethical issues we will get gender-studies-mmmmokay-soft-soap about how validating peoples inner identities isnt always the top priority for staff as the individual undertakes a quintessentially female task of childbearing in a system set up to care for and meet the needs of women. Probably there will be added some disengenious crap about creating legal fiction with the childs birth certificate to bolster the sacred religious delusion of gender identity overriding reality further in all areas

I cant believe I missed that conference! Anyone up for going if theres a sequel?

@Didactylos I totally agree. Spending that money on the sociological effects of this issue is madness. The medical side is very worrying though.

Right. That's it. I am officially de-lurking.

As we are continuously being told, gender dysphoria means that you feel you have been born in the wrong body.

As other pps have said one of the most female things that someone can do is give birth. How then can a transman put up with pregnancy and all that goes with it if they are so distressed by being female. My instinct is that this is part of the attempt to eradicate any difference between the sexes so thus negating the need for any maintenance of women's rights.

I totally despair of where all this is going. I have a DD with SN and am absolutely terrified of what she is going to be taught when she reaches secondary school. I know that more critical articles are appearing in the press so more people are becoming aware of what is going on but that seems to make no difference to the actions of those in power.

There appears to have been total institutional capture with MPs and others in decision making positions totally ignoring what ordinary members of the public are thinking.

Sorry if this is a bit disjointed but I am really pissed off with what is happening.

How is being pregnant 'living as a man'?

Well, I suppose everything is living as a man if you are identifying as a man, which is what you are identifying as, because you feel like a man, which is how you identify...………..

I can imagine that interactions of masculinizing hormones taken for transition, and side effects of these (eg vaginal atrophy) could be an important aspect of physiology, and the potential actions of these drugs with other pregnancy conditions eg preeclampsia may be significant aspects to study and monitor for effects on the parturient, their pregnancy and neonatal health. Also it would be interesting to know how and why these individuals who profess dysphoria and physically or medically transition choose to become pregnant including through the use of reproductive technology. These would be useful things to know in planning safe care around this group of patients.

Thing is, Sally Hines has no expertise in any of that (very relevant) Science Stuff. The £500,000 will buy a survery, done by her students, and a load of blather. This will tick a box about inclusion and perhaps pad someone's CV, for comissioning this boondoogle.

Some guidance may be issued, which will be ignored by overworked midwives. Career minded managers may vomit back up some of the blather at meetings or interviews.

Since the only useful things in the blather could be summed up by 'treat people with respect', and since the number of pregnant women who still think they are biologically male are incredibly tiny, absolutely no practical use will be made of this 'research'.