A transgender person who identifies as ‘genderfluid non-binary’ has spoken out about the joy of giving birth and becoming a father.
Scout Barbour-Evans, 23, who was born in New Zealand female but doesn’t identify as a man or a woman, publicly announced on Saturday they had given birth to a girl.
Barbour-Evans prefers to be referred to by the pronouns ‘they’ and ‘their’ rather than ‘he’ and ‘her’.
‘Look what Santa brought me this year! She arrived last Wednesday,’ they wrote.
A New Zealand transgender person who identifies as ‘genderfluid non-binary’ has spoken out about the joy of giving birth and becoming a father
Scout Barbour-Evans, 23 (pictured), who was born female but doesn’t identify as a man or a woman, publicly announced on Twitter on Saturday they had given birth to a girl
‘She’s perfect and I’m in love, but we’re still adjusting to life with each other so we aren’t taking visitors or many calls.’
They wrote about how they welcomed the baby after a 10-hour long labour at home, which was what they ‘so desperately wanted’.
‘It was pretty magic but very fast and rough on my body. Even if I’d wanted a hospital birth I wouldn’t have managed to get there,’ they said.
The Otago Polytech student, who was the first trans person to run for mayoralty, started their transition in 2016, but stopped to fall pregnant, NZ News reported.
After trying to conceive with the assistance of a sperm donor, they finally fell pregnant a few months after having a double mastectomy.
Speaking to Stuff last month, Barbour-Evans confessed that stopping hormone treatment and putting their transition on hold for the pregnancy had been difficult.
The Otago Polytech student (pictured), who was the first trans person to run for mayoralty, started their transition in 2016, but stopped to fall pregnant
Barbour-Evans (pictured) confessed that stopping hormone treatment and putting their transition on hold for the pregnancy had been difficult
‘Not being able to take my testosterone and anxiety and sleep medication meant that during the first trimester I was having those four-hour long panic attacks but it did normalise and settle as my body got used to it,’ they said.
It’s not the first time Barbour-Evans has spoken about their mental health issues.
In the lead up to the 2016 Dunedin mayoral election, they admitted to having their ups and downs, but denied it would prevent them from doing their job.
‘I just treat my mental illnesses like I would any physical illnesses that I have,’ they previously told Otago Daily Times.
‘Obviously there will be some days that are up, and some days that are down, and that’s going to be a reality for the rest of my life.
In the lead up to the 2016 Dunedin mayoral election, Barbour-Evans (pictured right) admitted to having their ups and downs, but denied it would prevent them from doing their job
Barbour-Evans (pictured) revealed they would be ‘chest-feeding’ the baby, who they will refer to using the pronoun ‘he’ or ‘she’ – depending on the sex – just like everyone else
‘It doesn’t mean I’m any less capable of all the things that I’m doing.’
They told NZ News last month: ‘A lot of people have said you can’t be a pregnant dad.
‘You need psychiatric help, but I’ve done more therapy than they’ve done in their lifetime and transitioning has actually been really good for me,’ they said
Barbour-Evans also announced on Saturday they wouldn’t be revealing a photo of their daughter, but rather doing media interviews in January.
They also revealed they would be ‘chest-feeding’ the baby – just like everyone else.
They concluded by saying they would not be raising their daughter with gender-neutral pronouns, adding it can be confusing and uncomfortable for people to use.
‘I don’t want to expose my child to that in any way,’ they said.