A transgender teen who was raised as a boy with male genitalia is now four months pregnant after discovering she also has a working female reproductive system including uterus, ovaries, cervix, and fallopian tubes. Mikey Chanel, 18, was only diagnosed with Persistent Mullarian duct syndrome (PMDS) last year, and now she’s enjoying her second trimester and will welcome a baby boy in a few months.
- Mikey always had a feeling that she was a woman. “It was obvious to everyone that I was different right from the start,” she explained. “I never felt like a boy. I was quite effeminate and I never really went through a whole ‘boy puberty’ thing. ‘I only have a tiny bit of facial hair. I’ve always had a feminine-shaped body.”
- She first came out as gay at 13 before realizing she was actually transgender. While she’s been identifying as female for a few years now, it was in 2019 that she discovered that perhaps there was a bigger reason she felt like there was more to her than the gender she was raised as. “I had been having a weird feeling after peeing and sex, so they did an ultrasound of my urinary tract,” Mikey recalled. “They told me that I had a cervix, ovaries, uterus, and fallopian tubes and that I could get pregnant if I wanted to. I actually thought it was a joke. I didn’t even know this was possible. Then they showed me my uterus on the screen.”
- Doctors advised Mikey to have a hysterectomy. While she has a fully operating reproductive system, medical professionals advised Mikey to have a hyserectomy since those with PMDS have higher incidences of cancer and tumors. However, she wasn’t ready for such a major decision.
- She knew her time to become a parent was limited. While 18 may seem young to become a parent, Mikey knows she may not always have a choice in the matter if she didn’t act now. “My male parts came back infertile but I was told that my ovaries were functioning. I was in a state of shock for a couple of weeks then I realised that I wouldn’t be able to have a child unless I carried it myself, and soon,” Mikey said. “I always knew I wanted to be a parent, I used to play with baby dolls when I was little and I’ve always seen kids in my future, so I decided, ‘it’s now or never I have to try and get pregnant.'”
- Mikey didn’t get pregnant in the typical way. Because she doesn’t have a vaginal opening, Mikey wasn’t able to conceive naturally. Instead, she underwent a laproscopic procedure called ZWIFT, in which embroys were inserted into her fallopian tubes via her abdomen. While there was only a 20% chance it would work, it seems the procedure was succesful, and Mikey couldn’t be happier. “I can’t wait to be a parent. My parents weren’t around much when I was a kid, so I want to be the parent that my parents couldn’t be, I really want to be there for my child,” she said. Congrats!
