A trans man has made headlines by giving birth to his daughter after his partner failed to conceive.
27-year-old Caleb Bolden from Cambridgeshire, England, transitioned from female to male around six years ago. At the same time, he and his partner, 25-year-old Niamh Bolden, began trying for a child via sperm donor.
In the following years, the couple suffered a series of miscarriages before giving up on the idea that Niamh could carry the couple’s child.
Rather than resorting to a very expensive fertility treatment, Caleb decided to stop his testosterone treatment for long enough to allow him to conceive, carry, and give birth to their child.
“Coming off testosterone was a rocky road as I had so many hormones going around my body. It was soul destroying. Transitioning was something I knew I wanted to do from a young age,” the young man admitted.
“But I knew for myself and my partner it was something we had always wanted and I wanted to give it a shot. When it’s age appropriate, I will tell her the things that are relevant. I want other trans people to know it’s OK to carry a child.
“We’re no different to any other person, just because we were born a biologically different sex, it doesn’t mean we should have to worry or lock ourselves away.”
Caleb also revealed that he was told there was a great chance he wouldn’t be able to fall pregnant because he was already taking testosterone for 27 months at the time he decided he wanted to get pregnant.
“But within a month of stopping, my menstrual cycle returned and within six months and three attempts using a sperm donor, I fell pregnant,” he added.
Following tough nine months and several complications on the way, baby Isla-Rae Bolden was born.
Now that the couple had welcomed their first child, Caleb insists on remaining off testosterone until the pair tries for another baby.
“I want to be able to carry a child one more time before I start taking testosterone again. I’m planning on doing that later this year and will be using the same sperm donor again,” he explained.
Congratulations to the family on the happy news!