Manitoba author explores being a transgender dad in new book

Trevor MacDonald is often asked the question, "Where is the mother?" The transgender father from Dugald, Man., said he hopes his new book will bring people a bit more insight.

The book Where's the Mother: Stories from a Transgender Dad will belaunched at McNally Robinson in Winnipeg on Sunday.

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MacDonald said people don't often see birthing children beyond the idea of motherhood, especially when it comes to transgender men.

"There's this narrative that we hear really often in the mediathe trapped in the wrong body narrative or born in the wrong body narrativeand if that is a person's understanding of what it means to be transthen it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to want to use your body to carry a pregnancy," he said.

"I think there is so much more nuance to trans lives than this born in the wrong body narrative."

As a father of two, MacDonald has chronicled his experiences in a blog online, the first support group for transgender people interested in pregnancy, birth, and breast feeding. He was also was part of a research study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health which explored the experiences of trans-masculine individuals with pregnancy, birth, and infant feeding.

He said through those experiences he saw the need for more conversation and understanding.

"I started getting questions through the blog. Trans people would write asking about how I navigated the health care system, asking various questions about trying to nurse a baby after having had chest surgery," he said.

"Health care providers were writing in questions about how to provide the best possible care to their trans clients. Then I realized there was so much work to be done and so many questions to answer."

MacDonald said beyond answering questions, the book is also a story about love and family.