Modern family: Married transgender dad who was born female uses his own egg and donor sperm to conceive a son – who was then carried in his wife’s uterus for nine months
- Seth Marlow, 41, transitioned from female to male when he was 25 years old
- He swapped testosterone for estrogen so his body would generate eggs again
- The egg was fertilized with donor sperm, and Seth’s wife Leah carried the baby to term
- Seth said the estrogen took a ‘toll’ as he redeveloped curves and got his period again, but he went back to testosterone right after
- The couple has a four-year-old son named Arlo and plans to have another the same way
A trans father from Roanoke, Virginia briefly swapped his testosterone for estrogen so that he could use his own egg to conceive a baby.
Seth Marlow, 41, transitioned from female to male when he was 25 years old, assuming he was giving up the chance to have his own biological children — but when he and his wife Leah decided to start a family, Seth switched his hormone intake so that he’d once again generate eggs.
The couple was able to freeze several embryos using Seth’s eggs and donor sperm, and eventually one was implanted in Leah’s uterus that resulted in their four-year-old son Arlo.
Starting a family: A trans father from briefly swapped his testosterone for estrogen so that he could use his own egg to conceive a baby
Worth it: Seth Marlow, 41, transitioned from female to male when he was 25 years old, but he swapped his testosterone for estrogen so his body would generate eggs again
Little one: The egg was fertilized with donor sperm, and Seth’s wife Leah carried the baby to term
Seth has opened up about the journey on the podcast Pregnantish and in an interview with the New York Post.
He explained that he’d transitioned back in 2003, having a double mastectomy and taking estrogen.
‘I thought my transition had cost me my fertility and the path to a family,’ he said. ‘I longed for — but never thought — I would have my own biological child. But, as soon as Leah and I got serious and I suggested this course of action, she said: “I’m in!”‘
It certainly wasn’t easy, even if it was ultimately rewarding. Seth says the whole ordeal took a ‘psychological toll.’
He gave up taking testosterone and began taking estrogen so that his ovaries would generate eggs, but the estrogen did other things to his body.
‘I thought my transition had cost me my fertility and the path to a family,’ Seth said. ‘I longed for — but never thought — I would have my own biological child’
Son: Leah underwent two rounds of IVF and delivered Arlo, a six-pound, three-ounce baby boy in October of 2015
He started to once again develop feminine curves, and about three months in, he got his period for the first time in years.
Once the eggs were extracted, fertilized by donor sperm, and frozen, Seth immediately switched back his hormones.
The embryos were frozen for three years before Leah underwent two rounds of IVF and delivered Arlo, a six-pound, three-ounce baby boy in October of 2015.
‘Arlo has two genetic fathers,’ Seth said. ‘He’s a pretty unique kid.’
The little boy is still too young to understand the mechanics of making a baby, but he does know that he came from his dad’s egg — and has asked his parents whether they’ll use another of dad’s eggs to give him a little sibling.
They intend to: They still have 13 leftover embryos and are hoping to have another baby soon.