Help a cis and trans lesbian couple make a baby.

June 26, 2014 11:01 AM

Can you help a cis and trans lesbian couple try to have a baby? Looking for resources, forums, blogs, columns, articles, and anything else that might be helpful.

We're a cis woman and a trans woman wanting to make a baby. I've been on hormones for 2.5 years, and that's the big kicker for the beginning. We've seen so many things about having a baby between a trans man and a cis person, but that is unfortunately less than helpful for our situation. Finding anything online about trans women trying to have kids is a lot harder.

We're mostly trying to find out if a) what we can pay attention to in regards to standard cis hetero couples trying to conceive and b) what we can ignore about said couples. Clearly something like increasing testosterone to increase chances is going to be something we won't want to do.

I know this is a long shot, because the one other metafilter thread didn't have much to offer, but I'm hoping something may have changed in the time between that one and this.

posted by trogdole to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

You may want to do some reading here or on these forums. IANAD, but I believe HRT greatly increases your risk of sterility, and you should talk to your doctor about the hormones.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:15 AM on June 26, 2014

Because of the hormones you've been on, I would go ahead and start looking for a reproductive endocrinologist who is supportive of GLBTQ people, such as on the American Fertility Association professional finder. There are two GLBTQ friendly REs here in Houston. You may have to travel, as do many couples who want a specific type of treatment like mini-IVF.

I also want to say, if you do have some struggles on this path, the Reddit infertility community is trans-friendly; most of the posters are cis women, but there is at least one transwoman participating. It's just generally a community where people are free to be snarky about their experiences but not at each other.
posted by mitschlag at 11:29 AM on June 26, 2014

I should say, the AFA finder is not going to be an end all be all, but it's a good start.

Also, check the Gay and Lesbian IF blog list here under the Stirrup Queen's Situation Room. I don't know if any of these couples include a trans partner.

The Fertility resources at UCSF's Transhealth website.

Fertility Options for Transgender Men and Women
posted by mitschlag at 11:37 AM on June 26, 2014

Clearly something like increasing testosterone to increase chances is going to be something we won't want to do.

Would that include going off of antiandrogens temporarily?

I mean, I understand completely if that's not something you're willing to do. Just that the anecdotal stories I've heard of trans women producing viable sperm after starting HRT all involve spending a couple months off of antiandrogens and estrogen.
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:47 PM on June 26, 2014 [2 favorites]

This article-thing floated across my Facebook feed. It's still only talking to AFAB people, but is more focused on parenting than the making of the kid, so is perhaps a little more relevant than usual. (And framing it as "things you should know" and having some be obvious is kind of obnoxious.)
posted by hoyland at 5:24 AM on June 27, 2014