Yes, some men can get pregnant. Transgender men and some intersex individuals who have a uterus and functioning ovaries can conceive, carry a pregnancy, and give birth. A cisgender man (someone assigned male at birth with typical male anatomy) cannot become pregnant, because pregnancy requires a uterus, ovaries, and the hormonal capacity to ovulate.
How Transgender Men Get Pregnant
A transgender man is someone who was assigned female at birth but identifies and lives as male. If he still has a uterus and ovaries, pregnancy is biologically possible. In a 2019 survey of nearly 1,700 transgender men and gender-diverse people assigned female at birth, 12% had been pregnant at least once. Among those who became parents, carrying their own pregnancy using their own eggs was the most common path, accounting for 36% of cases.
Many transgender men take testosterone as part of their transition. Testosterone typically suppresses ovulation and stops menstrual periods, but it is not a reliable contraceptive. Ovulation can still happen even without a period, which means unintended pregnancy is possible for anyone with a uterus who has sex that could result in conception.
For those who want to become pregnant intentionally, the standard approach is to stop taking testosterone beforehand. Once testosterone is discontinued, ovulation usually resumes within a few months, though the timeline varies from person to person. After giving birth, testosterone therapy can be restarted. Pregnancy is not an option for transgender men who have had their uterus or ovaries surgically removed.
Fertility Treatment and Prior Testosterone Use
Transgender men who have been on testosterone for years sometimes worry that long-term hormone therapy may have permanently affected their fertility. Current evidence is reassuring. In one study published in Fertility and Sterility, more than 60% of transgender patients seeking fertility treatment had already been on testosterone, some for as long as 17 years, with an average of about 3.7 years. All of them stopped testosterone for a short period before starting treatment cycles.
The results were striking. Transgender patients averaged about 20 eggs retrieved per cycle, actually slightly higher than the 16-egg average in cisgender women undergoing the same procedures. Every transgender patient who went through embryo transfer in that study achieved a successful pregnancy and delivery. While this was a small cohort, it suggests that prior testosterone use does not necessarily compromise egg quality or the ability to carry a pregnancy.
Intersex Individuals
Some people are born with intersex variations, meaning their chromosomes, hormones, or reproductive anatomy don’t fit neatly into typical male or female categories. In rare cases, a person may appear outwardly male but have internal reproductive structures like ovarian tissue or even a combination of ovarian and testicular tissue (called ovotestes). Whether pregnancy is possible depends entirely on which organs are present and whether they function. A person with a working uterus and ovarian tissue that produces eggs could, in theory, become pregnant regardless of their external appearance or the sex they were assigned at birth.
These cases are uncommon, and the reproductive capacity varies widely from person to person depending on the specific intersex variation involved.
Why Cisgender Men Cannot Get Pregnant
Pregnancy requires three things the typical male body does not have: a uterus to house and nourish an embryo, ovaries to produce eggs, and the hormonal cycling that triggers ovulation and prepares the uterine lining for implantation. Without these organs and processes, there is no mechanism for a fertilized egg to develop.
Beyond the absence of reproductive organs, the male pelvis is structurally different. It is taller, narrower, and more compact than the female pelvis, with a V-shaped pubic arch and a longer, straighter sacrum. The hip sockets sit closer together. These proportions are optimized for upright movement rather than accommodating a growing fetus or childbirth. Even in hypothetical scenarios involving organ transplantation, the skeletal structure, vascular supply, and hormonal environment of a cisgender male body would present enormous obstacles that no current medical technology can overcome.
The Emotional and Physical Experience
For transgender men who do become pregnant, the experience can be physically straightforward but emotionally complex. Pregnancy is deeply associated with femininity in most cultures, and carrying a child can intensify gender dysphoria for some men. Others find the experience manageable or even positive, particularly when they have strong support systems and healthcare providers who respect their identity.
Stopping testosterone can also bring back physical changes like menstruation and breast tissue sensitivity, which some men find distressing. Finding an OB-GYN or midwife experienced with transgender patients makes a meaningful difference in the quality of prenatal care and the overall experience. Many fertility clinics and birthing centers have become more knowledgeable about working with transgender and nonbinary patients in recent years, though access still varies significantly by region.