Plastic Surgeon Says Transgender's Pregnancy Safe, Geneticists Raises Concern

New York, NY (AHN) - Experts have expressed both confidence and concern on the health of a fetus of a transgender man who has just revealed his pregnancy.

Dr. Charles Garramoni, a Florida plastic surgeon who changes female bodies into male bodies, said there is a slim chance that Oregonian Thomas Beatie's baby girl will suffer complications due to Beatie's 10-year testosterone therapy to develop the physical characteristics of a male.

Beatie, who was reported by the gay, lesbian and transgender magazine The Advocate to be five months pregnant, underwent sex change operation 10 years ago but retained his female reproductive organs. His wife lost her uterus after a hysterectomy and the couple decided to have their own child through Beatie. Beatie was artificially inseminated to get pregnant.

Michael Bartalos, a New York geneticist and internist who works with many transgender patients, worries that the health of the eggs in Beatie's ovaries are suspect because of his prolonged exposure to testosterone. ABC News quoted Bartalos as saying that life-long exposure to this male hormone have an adverse effect on female eggs and any damage is irreversible.

The Web site of The Advocate featured an article about Beatie and showed a photo of the transgender with a bulging stomach. Beatie claims it is his second pregnancy.

A neighbor told KATU news that the pregnancy is a hoax.