When Chase Minnema, 26, first began questioning his gender identity as a teenager, he wasn't sure what the future would look like. While he always dreamed of becoming a parent, he never expected he would one day carry and give birth to his own child.
Now, the Virginia-based video processor and his partner, James Brewer, 29, are settling into life with their 6-week-old son, whom they describe as happy, healthy and deeply loved.
"Being parents is the best experience of our lives," they told Newsweek.
Minnema, started to question his identity when he was 14, initially he wondered if he was a lesbian or simply more masculine than his peers. Two years later, he realized something deeper was going on.
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"I felt different," he said. "Then I realized I was supposed to be a man."
He began hormone therapy in August 2016 after graduating from high school and later underwent top surgery.
"I'm super lucky with my family," Minnema said. "Everyone was welcoming."
While he largely avoided bullying in person, he encountered negativity online and said dating has sometimes presented challenges.
"I am upfront about who I am," he said. "It has created issues before as not everyone is OK with it."
"It’s his heart that I care about," Brewer said. "He is a person; I let him be himself.”
Minnema had envisioned children in his future, although he never expected he might have a biological child himself.
"I always wanted kids. I didn't think I'd have one naturally," he said. "But it happened and I figured I still can, so why not have a biological child?"
Brewer said becoming a father had been a lifelong dream.
"Since I was a kid, I have always wanted to be a dad, I'd help my cousin with her children."
"It's a dream come true." He said,
Planned Parenthood explains gender-affirming hormone therapy, including testosterone, is not a form of birth control. This means trans men can still become pregnant while taking testosterone, even if their periods have stopped. Pregnancy is possible as long as a person has a uterus and ovaries and is ovulating, and ovulation can still occur even in the absence of regular periods.
"The chances decrease with hormones, but it doesn't completely stop," Minnema said. "I stopped hormones for a while for personal reasons before getting pregnant, so that probably played into it."
He remained off hormone therapy throughout the pregnancy.
Although some people assume pregnancy would be distressing for a transgender man, Minnema said the experience was overwhelmingly positive.
"Being pregnant wasn't the worst thing ever," he said. "I had some moments of dysphoria occasionally, but it wasn't horrible. It was a beautiful experience having my own child."
Following the birth of their son, the couple who met in September 2025 began sharing parts of their story online. While many people have offered support, they have also faced criticism from strangers questioning both their identities and their parenting.
According to a 2022 study led by researchers at the University of Pavia in Italy found that transgender parents had similar health and well-being outcomes to cisgender parents and non-parents.
Researchers worked alongside colleagues from San Diego State University, the University of Amsterdam and UCLA's Williams Institute, and analyzed data from 1,436 transgender and cisgender adults who took part in the U.S. Transgender Population Health Survey.
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The findings suggest that any challenges transgender parents face are more likely linked to stigma and discrimination than to their ability to parent.
"People judge our parenting based on our relationship," Brewer said. "They say nasty things."
But the couple say their focus remains on their son.
"We are loving and caring parents," Brewer said. "We are making sure he is OK 24/7. He is happy, loved, fed and washed, healthy."
The pair hope to raise him to be kind and responsible.
"We will teach him how to be responsible, nice to people, and an all-round good person," Brewer said.
Both say negative comments have done little to shake their confidence as parents.
"People are saying I am still a girl," Minnema said. "I don't really care what anyone says online. They are brave behind a screen."
"We laugh at the comments," Brewer said. “I am glad we both have thick skin. I don't pay attention to the comments."
"I find it funny that they can speak about us but they don't know us. You don't know anything about us."
Looking ahead, Minnema says the family may not be finished growing. While he has considered bottom surgery, he feels current medical options are not right for him at this stage.
"We do want more children," he said. "I'd be fine doing it biologically again."
For now, however, the new parents are focused on enjoying the first precious weeks with their baby boy, a dream both say they long imagined but never took for granted.
Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Charlotte Nisbet
Reference
Carone, N., Rothblum, E. D., Bos, H. M. W., Gartrell, N. K., & Herman, J. L. (2021). Demographics and health outcomes in a U.S. probability sample of transgender parents. Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 35(1), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000776