Male pregnancy refers to the incubation of one or more embryos or fetuses by the male of any species. Almost all pregnancies in the animal kingdom are carried by female organisms. In all heterogamous species, the males produce the spermatozoa and rarely, if ever, host the zygote (the pipefish and seahorse are notable exceptions).^[1]

The Syngnathidae family of fish has the unique characteristic where females lay their eggs in a brood pouch on the male's chest, and the male incubates the eggs. Fertilization may take place in the pouch or before implantation in the water. Included in Syngnathidae are seahorses, the pipefish, and the weedy and leafy sea dragons. Syngnathidae is the only family in the animal kingdom to which the term "male pregnancy" has been applied.^[2]

[edit] Pregnancy of transgender people

Some trans men (female-to-male transgender people) who interrupt hormone treatments can become pregnant, while still identifying and living as men. This is possible for individuals who still have functioning ovaries.^[3] Although these individuals are biologically female, from the standpoint of gender identity they are pregnant men.^[4][5]

For example, Matt Rice, a transgender man, bore a child in 1999 by artificial insemination during his relationship with writer Patrick Califia.^[6] Thomas Beatie, another transgender man, chose to become pregnant because his wife was infertile; he wrote an article about the experience in The Advocate.^[5] The Washington Post further broadened the story on March 25 when blogger Emil Steiner called Beatie the first "legally" pregnant man on record,^[7] in reference to the state of Oregon recognizing Beatie as a man.^[4][5] He gave birth to a girl on June 29, 2008.^[8][9] Barbara Walters announced Beatie's second pregnancy on The View,^[10] and he gave birth to a boy on June 9, 2009.^[11]

[edit] Speculation on inducing pregnancy in male humans

Robert Winston, a pioneer of in-vitro fertilization, created a stir in 1999 when he told London’s Sunday Times that “male pregnancy would certainly be possible.”^[12][13][14]

The first uterine transplant was performed in Saudi Arabia in 2000, from one woman to another. This advance drew speculation about the possibility of a male receiving a womb transplant, and bearing a child from the transplanted womb.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Fetus in fetu

An extremely rare condition in which a fetus can grow inside the body is called "fetus in fetu". This is a developmental abnormality in which a fertilised egg splits as if to form identical twins, but one half gets enveloped by the other, and an entire living organ system with torso and limbs can develop inside the host.^[15] The abnormality occurs in 1 in 500,000 live births in humans.^[16]

The case of Sanju Bhagat, a man from Nagpur, India, attracted attention in 1999 for the length of time (36 years) he had carried his parasitic twin inside his body, and the size of the growth. Since Bhagat had no placenta, the growth had connected directly to his blood supply. ^[17]

[edit] Mythology

Various mythologies feature male characters giving birth, but such events typically take place in an entirely different fashion than an ordinary female pregnancy, such as Athena springing fully-formed from Zeus's forehead, or Dionysus being born from his thigh. In Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu gives birth to Lord Brahma thus: a lotus emerges from his navel, like an external placenta and womb, carrying Brahma within. Male mythological figures may become pregnant when rendered female in some way, such as the shapeshifter Loki turning into a mare to distract a stallion and ending up giving birth to Sleipnir.

[edit] In popular culture

Thematically, pregnancy can be related to the issues of parasitism and gender. Some science fiction writers have picked up on these issues, in "cross-gender" themes — e.g., Octavia E. Butler's Bloodchild. Ursula K. Le Guin's award-winning The Left Hand of Darkness, which contains the sentence "The king was pregnant", explores a society in which pregnancy can be experienced by anyone, since gender is variable within each person's lifetime. Lois McMaster Bujold's Ethan of Athos features an all-male society in which men use artificial wombs, but experience many of the psychological effects of pregnancy (anticipation, anxiety, etc.). In Marge Piercy's feminist utopian novel Woman on the Edge of Time, neither men nor women get pregnant, leaving that to artificial wombs, but both sexes may lactate and nurse the infant; the specifically female experiences of pregnancy and nursing were opened to men in the cause of gender equality.^[18]

Virgil Wong, a performance artist, created a hoax site claiming to detail his pregnancy^[19] featuring a fictitious male pregnancy.^[20][21]

The subject of male pregnancy was also explored in the 1990 BBC television comedy drama Frankenstein's Baby in which a Dr Eva Frankenstein helps a male patient to become the world's first pregnant man.^[22]

In the music industry, male pregnancy can be seen in Mexican rock band, Fobia's music video for "2 corazones" (2 hearts) and in English singer, Will Young's music video for "Hopes & Fears", where Young himself appears heavily pregnant.

[edit] See also

• Allotransplantation, transplanting of non-native tissue
• Couvade syndrome, a sympathetic condition
• Male lactation

[edit] References

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