Transgender Man Who Gave Birth To Son Says Pregnancy Was F*cking Awful

BBC/Seahorse

A transgender man who chose to keep his womb when he transitioned so he could carry his own child said pregnancy was f*cking awful.

Freddy McConnell, 32, is the subject of a new BBC film, Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth. The documentary charts his journey towards fatherhood, showing him giving up testosterone so he was able to conceive.

Speaking of the pregnancy experience, McConnell said in the documentary: If all men got pregnant then pregnancy would be taken so more seriously and talked about.

Check out the trailer for the documentary below:

McConnell added:

F*ck, its f*cking awful. If men had to go through this all the time you would never hear the end of it.

McConnell managed to fall pregnant on his second attempt of using a sperm donor.

In order to conceive, he had to stop taking testosterone – which had a number of effects. His body essentially went into reverse: the facial hair gets wispier, his hips broaden, his tummy softens and he starts to speak less from his chest and more from his throat.

BBC/Seahorse

He also started having periods again. As reported by The Guardian, McConnell said: I dont like the idea that Ive got tampons in my bag.

In the documentary, we see that McConnell was able to give birth naturally, opting for a water birth.

Speaking of his decision to take part in the film, McConnell said:

I think I totally underestimated the difficulty of being on camera and being filmed a lot. I remember thinking this is really odd Ill get used to it, but I never got used to it.

This is a film about me having a baby. But what I feel like Im going through isnt me having a baby or pregnancy, its a much more fundamental total loss of myself.

Director Jeanie Finlay told The Guardian ahead of their film screening that it was the most challenging film shed ever done, calling it an emotional marathon.

BBC/Seahorse

Finlay added:

I dont think anybody realised the dysphoria that Freddy felt would be quite so difficult. You put someone in a situation that is enormously purposely challenging and then you add a film into the mix. That is really tough.

Despite his mother, Esme, believing he would grow out of it wheRead More – Source