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Fertility & Pregnancy

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Will any effects on my fertility revert if I stop taking T?

This is somewhat of a grey area of knowledge. It is very much possible that you will become fertile again if you stop taking T and be able to get pregnant and carry a healthy baby to term, and lots of people who have been on T ave done so. However, this is not guarenteed and there is some suggestion that T may have lasting effects on fertility in some people, and we lack any long-term analsis of fertility of those on T.

Testosterone is Not a Contraceptive

  • You may still be fertile while on T, and some trans men have had surprise pregnancies while on T because they assumed it rendered them infertile

  • For this reason, it's essential to not treat T as a contraceptive.

    • You can still use progesterone-based hormonal contraceptives whilst on T and the evidence available indicates they have no effect on the effectiveness of T,  nor cause any feminising effects for someone on T.​

    •  You can also choose to have a copper IUD, which is a non-hormonal form of contraception.

    • Or you can just use condoms! But consider your own personality and whether there is a chance of you deciding to take the risk of having unprotected sex in the heat of the moment.

    • If you do have sex without a condom, be sure to take the morning after pill if at all possible

  • If you do become pregnant on T you will have to stop taking T if you wish to carry the baby, or have an abortion, if that is an option available to you.

  • It is important to avoid becoming pregnant on T due to risks to the foetus.

    • It may be very uncomfortable to stop taking T, but for the safety of you and any potential baby, you must weigh up what is most important to you: carrying a child or remaining on T.

Getting Pregnant after Taking T

  • If you wish to have a child at some point, there is increasing evidence that if you stop taking T you will be able to get pregnant, and that T does not make you infertile as was previously thought.

    • Plenty of healthy babies have been born to trans men who had been on T for many years!​

  • However, this is still an area lacking conclusive research, unable to provide a guarantee of future fertility, so if you know you want to get pregnant later down the road before starting T, you may want to consider having your eggs collected and stored so that you can come off T later and use these stored eggs to go through IVF. 

  • You can come off T at a later time to collect eggs for storage if you didn’t do it before starting T for whatever reason. 

  • However, if you are unable to access egg retrieval and storage through nationalised healthcare or insurance it can be a rather costly process, with sperm purchase and IVF adding further costs if you decide to use the eggs.

  • Egg storage also officially only lasts 5-10 years; although many healthy babies have been born after this 10 year mark has passed.

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