Male pregnancy

This article is about pregnancy in male organisms. For the sympathetic condition, see Couvade.

Male pregnancy is the making of one or more embryos or fetuses by the male of any species inside their bodies. The majority of all pregnancies in the animal kingdom are carried by female organisms. In most heterogamous species, the males produce the spermatozoa and rarely host the zygote.

The Syngnathidae family of fish has the unique characteristic where females lay their eggs in a brood pouch on the male's chest, and the male incubates the eggs. Fertilization may take place in the pouch or before implantation in the water. Included in Syngnathidae are seahorses, the pipefish, and the weedy and leafy sea dragons. Syngnathidae is the only family in the animal kingdom to which the term "male pregnancy" has been applied.

In humans

Speculation on inducing pregnancy in men

British physician Robert Winston speculates that it may be possible to surgically induce abdominal ectopic pregnancy in men. In his book The IVF Revolution, Winston speculates that an embryo could be implanted in a man's abdomen—with the placenta attached to an internal organ such as the bowel—and that the baby would later be delivered by Caesarean section. However, other experts expressed great concerns about the safety of such a procedure.

Pregnancy among intersex and transgender people

Some intersex people with XY chromosomes develop entirely female bodies and, if the individual develops a uterus, in vitro fertilization is possible. In this situation, the pregnant person has a Y chromosome, which is usually associated with males.

Some transmen (female-to-male transgender people) who interrupt hormone treatments can become pregnant, while still identifying and living as male—this is possible for individuals who still have functioning ovaries. One example is Matt Rice, a transman who is the former partner of writer Patrick Califia. Rice bore a child by artificial insemination. Although the individual is genetically and physiologically female, from an identity standpoint this may be considered a "male pregnancy".

Human male pregnancy in fiction

Male pregnancy in myth

Various mythologies have featured male characters birthing, but such events typically either take place in an entirely different fashion than an ordinary female pregnancy, such as Athena springing fully-formed from Zeus's forehead, or Dionysus being born from his thigh. Male mythological figures may also become pregnant when rendered female in some way, such as the shapeshifter Loki turning into a mare to distract a stallion and ending up giving birth to Sleipnir.

In Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu gives birth to Lord Brahma thus: a lotus emerges from his navel, like an external placenta and womb, carrying Brahma within.

Human male pregnancy in popular culture

Thematically, pregnancy can be related to issues of parasitism and gender. Some science fiction writers have picked up on these issues, in "cross-gender" themes—e.g., Octavia Butler's Bloodchild. Lois McMaster Bujold's Ethan of Athos features an all-male society in which men use artificial wombs, but experience many of the psychological effects of pregnancy (anticipation, anxiety, etc.). In Marge Piercy's feminist utopian novel Woman on the Edge of Time, neither men nor women get pregnant, but men may take drugs to lactate and nurse the infant; the experience of "pregnancy" and the woman-only experience of nursing were sacrificed for gender equality. Sheri Tepper uses male pregnancy as a form of political commentary in The Fresco, when intergalactic peace officers take politicians at their literal word that all life is sacred despite any personal drawbacks.

Male pregnancy is frequently seen in fan fiction. Such stories are marked as the genre "mpreg", a portmanteau of the words "Male" and "Pregnancy" which was coined by two writers under the pseudonyms of Taleya Joinson and Texas Ranger, who created and maintained what is believed to be the first fan fiction archive dedicated to stories of this genre in 1998.

Male Pregnancy was also used as an example on The Simpsons when Homer was in the coffin.

Two comedy films centered around the theme of such an event in humans, Rabbit Test (1978) and Junior (1994), have been released. The latter's attempts are somewhat scientifically feasible; the former does not address the matter. There is also a hoax site featuring a fictitious male pregnancy.