Transgender man gives birth in Germany

A transgender man has given birth to his first child in Germany and wants to be registered as the baby's father. 

Although the birth took place on March 18 of this year the news has only just come to light. The baby was born at home, in the Neukoellin district of Berlin, attended only by a midwife.   The father had insisted on a home birth to avoid being listed as the mother on hospital documents - a German legal requirement. 

Although the father has been taking hormone replacement therapies for years he elected to retain the reproductive organs of a woman.   Because he physically gave birth to the child the unidentified man is seen as the mother, however by law he is recognised as a man. 


In 2001 German law dropped the previous requirement for gender reassignment surgery in order to be lawfully recognised in a person’s perceived gender. 

It was only in August of this year that Germany decided to include a ‘third gender’ option on birth certificates, where children born of indeterminate gender no longer have to be listed as either ‘male’ or ‘female’. Germany has been the first country in Europe to adopt this change. 

The man’s request to appear as the father on the birth certificate has been granted, but his demand that the child’s gender not be released has been denied, according to the Daily Mail. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/europe/germany