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Transgender man becomes first person to give birth as a man and woman

A transgender man has given birth to a healthy baby - five years after having his first child while living as a woman.

Kaci Sullivan is believed to be the first person in the world to give birth while living as both a woman and a man.

The 30-year-old underwent a C-section following seven days in labour and welcomed Phoenix into the world four years after beginning the transition from female to male.

A transgender man has given birth to a healthy baby - five years after having his first child while living as a woman. Photo: MEGA
A transgender man has given birth to a healthy baby - five years after having his first child while living as a woman. Photo: MEGA
Kaci Sullivan is believed to be the first person in the world to give birth while living as both a woman and a man. Photo: MEGA
Kaci Sullivan is believed to be the first person in the world to give birth while living as both a woman and a man. Photo: MEGA
The 30-year-old underwent a C-section following seven days in labour and welcomed Phoenix into the world four years after beginning the transition from female to male. Photo: MEGA
The 30-year-old underwent a C-section following seven days in labour and welcomed Phoenix into the world four years after beginning the transition from female to male. Photo: MEGA

Business student Kaci conceived with 27-year-old partner Steven last February after taking a break from male hormones.

The couple do not want to reveal the 8lbs 9oz baby's sex and will raise it as 'gender neutral' until it is old enough to decide its sexuality for itself.

Kaci already had one child, five-year-old Grayson, with his ex-husband, who he gave birth to while living as a woman before coming out as transgender.

"Some people have been perturbed by the idea of me giving birth but I don't engage or respond to them,” Kaci, from Wisconsin, said.

"Because I don't see pregnancy as inherently feminine, and because I don't subscribe to make-believe gender roles, I wasn't threatened by the idea of pregnancy.”

Business student Kaci conceived with 27-year-old partner Steven last February after taking a break from male hormones. Photo: MEGA
Business student Kaci conceived with 27-year-old partner Steven last February after taking a break from male hormones. Photo: MEGA
The couple do not want to reveal the 8lbs 9oz baby's sex and will raise it as 'gender neutral' until it is old enough to decide its sexuality for itself. Photo: Mega
The couple do not want to reveal the 8lbs 9oz baby's sex and will raise it as 'gender neutral' until it is old enough to decide its sexuality for itself. Photo: Mega
Kaci fell pregnant with his first child in July 2011 as a woman. Photo: MEGA
Kaci fell pregnant with his first child in July 2011 as a woman. Photo: MEGA

Kaci, who runs the TransLiberation Art Coalition, promoting activism in art, was assigned the female gender at birth.

He met his first husband at 19 and tied the knot in 2010, but by his early twenties was battling severe depression and began to drink excessively.

When Kaci fell pregnant with his first child in July 2011, he hoped becoming a mother would make him feel more feminine - but was left in a dark place when it didn't.

"I felt so hopeless and lost. I wanted to die. I fell into such a dark place and I was terrified to bring a baby into that darkness with me,” he said.

"But the moment they put him in my arms it was bliss.”

Kaci already had one child, five-year-old Grayson, with his ex-husband, who he gave birth to while living as a woman before coming out as transgender. Photo: MEGA
Kaci already had one child, five-year-old Grayson, with his ex-husband, who he gave birth to while living as a woman before coming out as transgender. Photo: MEGA
Kaci, who runs the TransLiberation Art Coalition, promoting activism in art, was assigned the female gender at birth. Photo: MEGA
Kaci, who runs the TransLiberation Art Coalition, promoting activism in art, was assigned the female gender at birth. Photo: MEGA

Three months after Grayson was born, Kaci came out as transgender and says he "felt like a tonne of bricks" had been lifted.

The revelation led to his marriage breaking down and many of his friends cutting contact.

In 2013, at the age of 25, he began transitioning by taking male hormone testosterone and undergoing a double mastectomy.

Then in May 2014, Kaci met current partner Steven and they "hit it off straight away".

A false pregnancy scare led to the couple deciding to try for a baby in 2016 after Kaci stopped taking male hormones for health reasons.

Kaci gave birth to a healthy tot weighing 8lbs 9oz at 2.05pm on November 11, who he is now feeding with breast milk provided by donors.

Kaci is pictured when he was living as a woman. Photo: MEGA
Kaci is pictured when he was living as a woman. Photo: MEGA
This is Kaci now. Photo: MEGA
This is Kaci now. Photo: MEGA

Kaci, who says his baby will refer to him as 'dad', refuses to answer the question: "Is it a boy or a girl?" because he says it's irrelevant.

"I wish people realized that they're not asking me about the baby's gender identity," Kaci said.

"There is no way anyone could know that. They're asking me what my baby's genitals look like. This is a creepy question when we break it down.

"We don't need to be sexualising little children. Nobody but your child should be revealing their gender."

He and Steven will raise their baby as gender neutral, with non-gendered clothes and a wide variety of toys, so they can "express themselves in the way that feels right".

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