An expectant mother has welcomed a baby girl after falling pregnant while in transit, saying carrying the child helped her get through the pandemic as the initial shock has given way to immense love.
A mother who fell pregnant from a Gripdr hook is adjusting to life as a “seahorse dad” after welcoming a baby girl. Ash Patrick Schade, 28, had spent two years in transit before learning that she was pregnant in February 2020.
She started taking testosterone and estrogen blockers, which she thought would prevent a pregnancy. But after taking out the happy banks, she immediately stopped the treatments to give birth to her daughter, Ropa Shiva, now. The family man had struggled with his gender identity for as long as he could remember, but he was excited to start a family of his own as the father of a seahorse, claiming his pregnancy helped him get through the pandemic. .
A seahorse parent is a term used to describe a gestational parent who is transgender or biarian. The term comes from seahorses, of which the male carries and gives birth to his young. Mental health worker and PHD student from Hυtiпgto, West Virginia, USA, now co-parenting Roпaп with her husband Jordaп, 28, who is a stay-at-home stepdad.
Ash said: “At the time I got pregnant I was taking testosterone gel and estrogen blockers and it had ever occurred to me that I might get pregnant while on them as it’s such a rare occurrence. “I was going through a difficult time from 2019 to 2020 and struggled with my mental health due to going through a divorce. “I stopped using Gripdr hooks and accidentally got pregnant.
“It was a huge shock, but I fell in love with my belly and got through the pregnancy, despite struggling with dysphoria and medical risks. “Clothes are my everything, I love them more than myself.”
Ash encountered the difficulty of pregnancy, and often found a lack of knowledgeable medical personnel who understood her situation. He said: “Nobody wanted to take my case when I first found out I was pregnant.
“I was a high-risk case, with a high chance that the pregnancy would go wrong. “I struggled with the pregnancy, especially with the pandemic. “But once I was assigned a doctor, he worked with me to understand how I was feeling and what I was going through.
“When I started working, the team of medical staff had already been informed of my situation and they were amazing, until they were swapped with different staff members later. “Seeing my hairy legs, the stirrups must have caught me off guard as they said ‘maybe you should rethink your gender identity.’
“It might be a bit coercive, but giving birth felt like one of the most masculine things I’ve ever had.
“For me, growing up and looking at male role models, being a map was always about having the biggest peis: it was about what you did to help others, what you could achieve and achieve.
“Bringing life to the world as the father of a seahorse was incredible.”
Despite the medical struggles of her pregnancy, Ash sought solace in the support of her husband, the LBGTQI+ community of oпliпe. He said: “I felt like I was in the wrong body for as long as I could remember.
“My parents didn’t know any better, and they thought that coverage therapy would cure me, that I was sick. “I hid my boobs and identified as a boy at school and got used to Ash, and wore dark gothic clothing as a way to hide how he saw me. “Until one day, my mother, who does not wish to be named, sent me to school in a two-piece for picture day and my teacher declared out loud that she was actually a girl named Ashley.
“I went from poplar to a man above sight, with my girlfriend’s mom calling out to my mom to ‘keep that gay kid away from my daughter.’ “I had a really horrible childhood and I am a suicide attempt survivor of gender dysphoria and the trauma I went through.”
Ash feared that her mental health might worsen when she found out about the pregnancy. He added: “I was worried about what a good father he would be and how others would see me. “But throughout the entire process I had the love of my husband Jorda supporting me all the way, he even cut the Ropa cord, he was there every step of the way. “I had all my friends following my journey and reviewing it, as well as support from the gay and transgender community and Eva from the Satanic Temple that I am a member of.”
Αsh can’t wait to tell Roпaп what 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 was like as he grows up. She also enjoys educating members of the public when they approach him to ask if Rosa’s mother is in the picture. He said: “I want to be hopeful and open with Roa all the time, and explain to him that sometimes it happens to me that I can have babies.
“I can explain to him how I am both his mother and father. “A lot of times people will stop by while we’re gone and she’ll say her mom must look beautiful, or if I’m not with Jorda, they’ll ask where we adopted her. “So it’s very interesting to start talking when I explain everything to them.