It’s been 14 years since the world learned that Thomas Beatie was the first man to get pregnant and deliver birth. Beatie, 47, now has 4 kids and is wedded to his second wife. Beatie has dedicated his life to educating people on LGBTQIA+ concerns, with a concentration on transgender fertility and reproductive rights, as an author, public speaker, and champion for transgender causes.
Beatie started identifying as a male when he was 10 years old, and he officially came out in 1997. He underwent sex reassignment surgery in March 2002. He had become pregnant through artificial insemination in 2007 since his wife, Nancy, was infertile at the time. Beatie later divorced in 2012, and she married Amber Nicholas in 2016.
Beatie made history in 2008 by being the first guy to get pregnant and give birth, and he has since had two additional kids. Following the public disclosure of his pregnancy during an appearance with Oprah Winfrey, his life altered dramatically. He has subsequently written personal articles and books on his experiences as a pregnant man, and several television programmes and even movies have been created about the issue.
Sadly, when more individuals learned about his history and continued to associate him as the pregnant guy, Beatie had to deal with persistent media attention and misconceptions from strangers. Beatie now lives a very calm life in Phoenix, Arizona, with his family, and has made it his goal to teach people about his experience.
Beatie was born a female and given the name Trace. But, he was never at ease with his body or sexuality, and he had no idea how to articulate his thoughts because the term “transgender” was fraught with stigma. Beatie grew older and recognised that being in a woman’s body was not how he intended to live his life, so he chose to become his true self.
Though it has been difficult for him to embrace himself for who he is and to have the guts to live his life authentically, Beatie has opened the path for numerous transgender policies to become law. He started utilizing his voice to speak up for those who were enduring prejudice and persecution, and he has transformed many lives for the better.
Beatie opted to maintain his reproductive organs after his sex-reassignment surgery in 2002 since he knew he wanted to have a family in the future. Fortunately, he was able to conceive and have healthy kids. This is not to say that his pregnant journey was something he relished or accepted wholeheartedly.
Despite having scheduled for a C-Section, his daughter arrived three days sooner and he had a vaginal delivery in 2008. Beatie even had two kids in 2009 before having a hysterectomy since he did not want to have any more kids.
In addition, he has openly discussed his pregnancy in several interviews.
Beatie spoke in June 2021 about his current life and how he feels the trans community gained from the extensive media attention his pregnancy got.
Beatie explained when his story broke, there wasn’t a single transgender man in the public spotlight. Most people had never heard of it. On top of that, they can give birth! Exploring the significance of reproduction for trans people was a tremendous eye-opener according to him.
Beatie had his first kid, Susan, in 2008, and went on to have two more with Nancy. When the couple divorced, he remarried in 2016 to Amber, who worked at the daycare where his kids had gone. They had a child together in 2018, with Amber giving birth.
Beatie, on the other hand, hasn’t forgotten how the media depicted his pregnancy. He was labelled “the pregnant guy,” a nickname he has never been able to overcome, and he had to cope with several misconceptions from strangers. He was frequently misgendered and misnamed.
Beatie is proud of his life and family, despite the criticism. Beatie explained that he does not think there’s anything wrong with being a pregnant man. He was very pleased to be a father, and he is still proud to be a father. He is extremely happy to have been the one to bring his children into the world. It’s almost like a badge.
