Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 58.69.2.158 (talk) at 07:25, 7 April 2008 (→Mythology). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Male pregnancy refers to the incubation 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.

In humans

Speculation on inducing pregnancy in men

British physician and fertility pioneer Robert Winston speculates that it may be possible to surgically induce abdominal ectopic pregnancy in men. In his book The IVF Revolution, Winston speculates that an embryo could be implanted in a man's abdomen—with the placenta attached to an internal organ such as the bowel—and that the baby would later be delivered by Caesarean section. However, other experts expressed great concerns about the safety of such a procedure.

It is speculated that the male pregnancy would follow certain patterns made familiar with other forms of assisted reproduction. Female hormones would be administered to the man to make him receptive to the pregnancy. In vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques would be used to induce an ectopic pregnancy by implanting an embryo and placenta into the abdominal cavity, just under or into the peritoneum. Once implantation was complete, the man would stop taking hormones, because the pregnancy itself would take over. The embryo would secrete sufficient hormones to maintain its own growth and development.

The delivery would require open surgery (Cesarean section) to remove the baby and the placenta. The latter would be the real danger because it forms such intimate connections with surrounding blood vessels that a massive hemorrhage would be likely. Implantation might also involve other structures in the abdomen, including the bowel, and it is possible that parts of other organs might have to be removed. Several physicians who were well-accustomed to advanced and dangerous forms of ectopic pregnancies would have be on-hand to handle any complications.

Pregnancy among intersex and transgender people

Some intersex people with XY chromosomes develop entirely female bodies and, if the individual has a uterus, can gestate an embryo conceived in the lab. The typical karyotype for a male is XY, so in this case the pregnant person has a Y chromosome.

Some transmen (female-to-male transgender people) who interrupt hormone treatments can become pregnant, while still identifying and living as male—this is possible for individuals who still have functioning ovaries. For example, Matt Rice bore a child 1999 by artificial insemination during his relationship with writer Patrick Califia. Thomas Beatie, who chose to become pregnant because his wife was infertile, wrote an article about his pregnancy in The Advocate, and is due to give birth in July 2008. The Washington Post further broadened the story on March 25 when blogger Emil Steiner called it the first "legally male" pregnancy on record. This was in reference to the state of Oregon recognizing Beatie as a man, which California never did for Rice. Although these individuals are genetically and physiologically female, from an identity standpoint they may be considered "pregnant men".

Fetus in fetu

An extremely rare condition in which a fetus can grow inside a male (or female) 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. The abnormality occurs in 1 in 500,000 live births.

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.

In fiction

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 the stallion Svaldilfari and ending up giving birth to Sleipnir.

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. Sheri S. Tepper uses male pregnancy as a form of political commentary in The Fresco, when intergalactic peace officers take politicians at their word that all life is sacred.

Male pregnancy has featured on television. In season 4 of the popular machinima series Red vs. Blue, a Covenant Elite impregnated Tucker with a parasitic embryo. At the end of the season Tucker gave birth to a miniature alien off-screen; it was named Blargity-Blarg Tucker, and is also called Junior or Abomination.

Two comedy films centered around male pregnancy: Rabbit Test (1978) and Junior (1994). The latter's attempts are somewhat scientifically feasible; the former does not address the matter.

Virgil Wong, a performance artist, created a hoax site claiming to detail his pregnancy featuring a fictitious male pregnancy.

References

1. "Male pregnancy". ScienceDirect. 2003-10-14.
2. "Babies borne by men 'possible'". The Independent. 1999-02-22.
3. Khadilkar, Vaman. "Intersex Disorders", Pediatrician On Call web site
4. Faster than Life
5. Califia-Rice, Patrick (2000-06-20). "Two Dads With a Difference — Neither of Us Was Born Male". Village Voice. Retrieved 2008-03-22. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
6. "Labor of Love". The Advocate. 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2008-03-27. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
7. washingtonpost.com OFF/beat blog March 25th, 2008
8. Chua, JHY (2005). "Fetus-in-fetu in the pelvis" (PDF). Annals of the Academy of Medicine Singapore. 34: 646–649. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
9. Grant P, Pearn JH Foetus-in-foetu. Med J Aust. 1969; 1:1016-1020 — source not consulted; cited here following Hoeffel CC, Nguyen KQ, Phan HT, Truong NH, Nguyen TS, Tran TT, Fornes P. Fetus in fetu: a case report and literature review. Pediatrics. 2000 Jun;105(6):1335-44. PMID 10835078 free full text
10. "ABC News: A Pregnant Man?". i.abcnews.com. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
11. Piercy, Marge (1985-11-12). Woman on the Edge of Time. Fawcett. ISBN 0-449-21082-0. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
12. "Virgil Wong website". Retrieved 2008-03-31.
13. Hoax website: "POP! The First Human Male Pregnancy". Retrieved 2008-03-27.

• Reproduction
• Andrology
• Pregnancy