Ladies, you may have though at some point in your pregnancy, "I wish men could get pregnant too", so that your husband could also experience some of the not-so-glamorous bits of pregnancy.
Well your wish just might come true in less than 10 years!
In November this year, the Cleveland Clinic (USA) announced that they would be performing uterus transplant surgery on women born without a womb or with uterine medical issues.
This sparked the question, if doctors can transplant a uterus to women, could they do the same to a man?
The answer is "yes", according to a Yahoo! Health report.
In theory, "men could receive a uterus, carry a baby to term, and give birth" says the report. And what is astonishing is that male pregnancy could be a reality in just five to 10 years.
They only need a womb
Through modern medicine, transgender women can have female hormones introduced, have milk-producing breasts and can even get surgically constructed vaginas. The missing link until now has been a place to carry the developing baby -- a womb.
However, uterus transplants have the potential to solve this problem. Right now, uterus transplants are still in the research stage for women suffering from uterine factor infertility (UFI).
In fact, a Swedish medical team has already successfully harvested uteri from live donors -- resulting in five pregnancies and four live births, say reports.
It's not without risks, though
Transplant surgery is not a simple procedure without major health risks. But for those women either born without a uterus, with medical issues affecting their womb, or transitioning transgender women who want to get pregnant, the risk would definitely be worth the reward.
And what about men?
Men may have to wait a little longer though to experience the joys of pregnancy. This is because they lack in the internal "infrastructure" needed to support a transplanted uterus, like pelvic ligaments, a cervix and natural hormones that nurture a pregnancy.
But, with the miracles that science seems capable of performing on a daily basis, it's probably only a matter of time before someone figures all this out, too.
Dads and dads-to-be -- brace yourselves meanwhile!
We'd love to hear your thoughts on the idea of possible male pregnancy in the future. Do share them with us in a comment below.
