{"content":{"sharePage":{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"24537619","dateCreated":"1274713066","smartDate":"May 24, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"sandratan","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/sandratan","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/hciithomelearning2010.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/24537619"},"dateDigested":1531977177,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Male pregnancy?","description":"What are the pros and cons of male pregancy?
\nUse this Discussion forum!","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"24564575","body":"Male pregnancy presents a whole new range of opportunities.
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\n1)Male pregnancy allows for career women to pursue their careers as they now do not need to take time off work to nurse the baby, deliver him and recuperate before going back to work; A man can now take over the role of pregnancy. Eventually this presents an innovative idea where husband and wife could trade off pregnancies, otherwise named alternating pregnancies. This opens up more choices and more possibilities, and eventually more roles that they can assume in their lives.
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\n2)Men can now experience pregnancy and childbirth, enjoying the process which he is bringing a life into the world, one which many view as exciting. Mr Lee Ming Wei, the first man who attempted male pregnancy, opine that \u201cThere is nothing more natural and beautiful on this earth than bringing a child into the world.\u201d
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\n3)Male pregnancy opens up a new market for male maternity clothes. This would be an avenue where the economy will be boosted through the utilization of male pregnancy.
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\n4)Homosexuals and gays can have their own baby and raise them. This would allow for gay families to have their own biological child.
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\nHowever, male pregnancy has several drawbacks as well.
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\n1)Male pregnancy is a risky process. A pregnant male is an at-risk male with an at-risk embryo or fetus. It is important to be cognizant of the fact that changes during pregnancy are not just restricted to the swelling of the abdomen. Rather, various organs and tissues undergo changes to accommodate the new life. It is well known that a man\u2019s bone structure is not suited for carrying such a load as pregnancy. Such men may be at risk for post-delivery chronic back pain as the most benign side effect. The lining of the abdominal cavity\u2014the peritoneum\u2014can become inflamed (e.g. from inflammation or infection in nearby organs such as the appendix or from injury to the cavity), a condition called peritonitis, which is a surgical emergency.
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\n2)Humans are not god. Playing God is reflected in Prometheus\u2019s attempt to create a being out of clay, where he was later bound to a rock where an eagle was set to feed upon his liver, whilst the next day when it regenerated, only to be eaten by the eagle again. Taking over the female\u2019s roles of reproduction is a dangerous endeavor by mankind and can be seen as overstepping the boundaries of man.","dateCreated":"1274750922","smartDate":"May 24, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"zhihaoteoh","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/zhihaoteoh","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"24564813","body":"A male abdomen is not, like the womb, suited to detach the placenta after birth. The placenta would instead attach to th abdominal wall\/other place where it was implanted in, and when the baby is born this would cause an even more massive loss of blood than in a normal pregnancy. The health risks are high and lethal from male pregnancy.
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\nFurthermore, where is this baby going to come out from? The male has no orifice from which the baby can come out of. Caesarian sections would have to be used to extract the baby.
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\nFinally, a baby in the abdominal cavity would result in the displacement of such vital organs as the intestines and the stomach. A woman has the womb to contain the baby, and this expands, but if the baby is not contained within a womb its growth might result in damage to internal organs.","dateCreated":"1274751290","smartDate":"May 24, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"liowweiyuan","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/liowweiyuan","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"24567225","body":"Male pregnancy is a complex issue and hence has many pros and cons.
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\nFor one, male pregnancy would allow for a change in social norms and stereotypes as women would no longer be the only ones able to give birth. This could possibly allow more couples to reverse the more common roles, which is that males should be the ones working and earning money for the family while females should stay at home and be devoted to their children and cleaning the house. With male pregnancies possible, females can more easily be able to be the ones to pursue a more successful career while the males can be the ones taking care of the children.
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\nSecondly, male pregnancies would result in the possibility of a gay couple having children together. This would allow gay couples to have a normal family after marriage (provided gay marriages are allowed) and raise their own children together like other couples.
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\nHowever, male pregnancies are extremely dangerous as implantation can only occur in the abdominal cavity, just under or into the peritoneum and as a result, the placenta can only be removed by a Caesarian section. It also means that removal of the placenta is dangerous because it forms such intimate connections with surrounding vessels that massive hemorrhage is likely. Implantation may have also involved other structures in the abdomen, including the bowel and it is possible that parts of other organs may need to be removed.","dateCreated":"1274754705","smartDate":"May 24, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"kennethlui","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/kennethlui","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"24571041","body":"Male pregnancy provides the world today with a whole new spectrum of implications.
\nFirstly, like Kenneth and Zhi Hao had mentioned, male pregnancy allows for a change in social norms and stereotypes as couples would then be enabled with the choice of who gets to have the big belly. Not only does this allow women to further their careers without the need to withdraw for a year or so, but it is also a big step towards gender equality, as the conventional notion of males being the breadwinners of the family while females act as the nurturers no longer come into the way of spouses who think not. Therefore, women are not necessarily placed in the light of being disadvantaged in the course of reproduction anymore.
\nFollowing which, the milestone of achieving male pregnancy allows homosexual couples to experience pregnancy. However, this is not necessarily a fact to celebrate. One of the most potent psychological barriers that prevent homosexual male individuals from acting out gay is the idea of having no children, very much like how the presence of the hymen discourages females from having premarital sex. As such, when male pregnancy is made possible, this barrier is then broken down (pun intended :D ) and homosexual individuals are then indirectly encouraged to do it the wrong way.
\nFinally, impregnated males would call for a new market in male maternity clothes. However, this would pose as a threat against existing maternity industries as the market for these companies are already considerably small as only pregnant women require them. This is evident in the logical postulation that the market for female maternity clothes would diminish as its male counterpart grows. Therefore, it is not essentially good for the industry.","dateCreated":"1274764686","smartDate":"May 24, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"RyoYap","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/RyoYap","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"24573215","body":"Should male pregnancy become widespread, this would be a huge step in gender equality, as both men and women now have the physical responsibility to bear women. This allows for women to pursue their careers if their male counterparts choose pregnancy over working. This would be a triumph for many people in the rights movements. Furthermore, gay couples are finally able to not just have their own children, but give birth to them as well.
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\nBefore I plunge into the physical cons of male pregnancy, I would like to talk about the social cons as well. Having pregnant males can be seen as an act of defiance against nature, and may be rejected by many religious groups or naturalists. Furthermore, being a pregnant male is taboo even in the most liberal places, and even the children may find themselves out of place, given that they were given birth to in an \u201cunnatural form\u201d.
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\nAlso, for males to give birth is a huge physical impairment. There is no natural orifice for babies to come out in the case of pregnancy, and thus babies have to be delivered through surgery, ie caesarean section. This is in conflict with WHO\u2019s recommendation of 15% of all births to be a cesarean section. Also, males do not have a natural cavity for a baby to grow in, and this may result in danger to internal organs if a baby were to grow inside the abdomen of males.","dateCreated":"1274775103","smartDate":"May 25, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"Canxiang","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/Canxiang","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"24587397","body":"Pros: Women can no longer say "you don't know what pain is like... you haven't even experienced childbirth!"..... joking. Or not.
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\nMale pregnancies offer an alternative for families with either partner being impotent. This may be for couples who feel that children born through surrogate mothers are not fully "theirs", or who do not wish to undergo invitro fertilization of the female. As mentioned by Zhihao, it can also be a solution for homosexual couples who wish to have children (although it's rather disturbing to have two fathers)
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\nMale pregnancies also give the guys an excuse to sit back at home for at least 3 months, but it restricts their alcohol intake and thus this is an upside :)
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\nCons: It defies the order of nature. Human males are no made to get pregnant, given that their skeletal structure places emphasis on a wider torso than hip features. The fact that male hips are genetically slimmer than female hips would cause a pregnancy to be constrained, such that internal organs may be damaged by the growing foetus.
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\nPregnancies may also leave stretch marks, which will not bode well for human males who often see it fit to remove their tshirts at beaches, etc.","dateCreated":"1274799815","smartDate":"May 25, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"WesleyLeong","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/WesleyLeong","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"24602379","body":"What are the pros and cons of male pregancy?
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\nPros
\nMale pregnancy will allow transgendered females (male to female) to be pregnant, thus allowing them to have acess to all the experiences that a woman may have in her lifetime. Male homosexuals will also have an opportunity to have their own biological children and raise a family unit that is directly related to them.
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\nMale pregnancy also allows gender roles to be reversed to a greater extent. Males will be able to feel what a pregnant woman goes through during her nine months of pregnancy, allowing them to be more sympathatic towards them and less sexist. It also allows more males to become homekeepers, especially if their wives hold an important or high position in their jobs whilst the males hold a lower position or can afford to have more spare time to themselves and the family. Male pregnancy minimises the dilemma of whether to have a child due to the risk to the woman's job and the family income.
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\nCons
\nThe process in which males become pregnant and 'give birth' is a risky and dangerous one. This might affect the male in various psysical ways (e.g. damage to small intestines) and the baby too (C-sections are not recommended by doctors as they result in a higher chance of the baby contracting various illnesses later in life).
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\nMale pregnancy will no doubt result in much social backlash, especially from various religious groups and feminist groups as they believe that reproduction roles should be kept at the status quo. This may result in attacks on pregnant males in the future and risk injury to the male and the foetus (I read on a site that Lee was threatened by an Christian extremist group with death and moved when they said that they knew where he lived).","dateCreated":"1274812912","smartDate":"May 25, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"kevintan","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/kevintan","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"24620841","body":"Pros
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\nAs mentioned by many people above...male pregnancy might be the way to go for male homosexuals to have children. to add on to that, it is also viable for couples who have problems with conceiving a child due to possible health constraints on the part of the female. in such cases, the male can take the role of the female by bearing the child
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\nMale pregnancy is also a step towards gender equality. this would result in males having the chance to know more about the pains and pleasure of pregnancy.
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\nMale pregnancy can also help in the female's career. for example, if the female is very work orientated and cant afford to leave work, the male could help the female to bear the children. this would perhaps solve problems of delaying family building and increase birth rate of a country
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\nCons
\nMales cannot have a natural birth and thus have to resort to caesarean birth will is mire risky to the baby than natural birth
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\nMales might also turn feminine after pregnancy due to the amount of hormones injected. furthermore, since there is no real case of what happens after a male gives birth, the male might possibly develop motherly instincts and thus turn more feminine as well.
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\nLastly, it is said that breast feeding is more nutrient rich for the offspring and will increase the bond between the offspring and the mother in normal cases. however, males cannot lactate unless pro-lactin is injected. the idea of breast feeding might not be popular and hence might be given up.","dateCreated":"1274840357","smartDate":"May 25, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"loozhenwei","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/loozhenwei","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"24620987","body":"Personally, I don't think that male lactation is much of a problem when it comes to male pregnancy, because there are many ways to solve it -> they could either hire a wet nurse or, through the injection of xenoestrogens, lactate anyway. However, the more pertinent issues are those of the physiological problems regarding male pregnancy, such as the lack of a uterus, placenta, orifice to give birth through etc., and I think that the case study of Mr Lee will be an exceptionally good first study in examining the aspects in which male pregnancy can be improved.
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\nHowever, some are concerned that the presence of the possibility for male pregnancy will disrupt the traditional family unit, especially as it is a role reversal unlike any seen in society thus far, and can be hard to come to grips with.","dateCreated":"1274840547","smartDate":"May 25, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"kennysoccer25","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/kennysoccer25","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"24621113","body":"Posting for yanperng
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\nMale pregnancy, besides allowing homosexuals to conceive and give birth to a child they could more so call their own, also allows for the pregnant male to better understand the labour pains a mother has to go through. This would not only allow the parent to better appreciate their child, but would draw more respect for women, as this would be a very good opportunity for the male community to better understand and respect the burden on women, and would improve male-female relations, as well as reduce gender discrimination in the world.
\nMale pregnancy also allows couples, where the female does not want to go through labour pains, to have children, by placing the pregnancy burden on the male. This would allow a higher birthrate, as well as more diversity for couples wishing to have babies.
\nMale pregnancy would allow couples to have babies, despite the female\u2019s impotence or post-menopause. This would be instrumental in increasing the birthrate with respect to the increased trend of young men wooing mature women. This would double the chances of having babies, and may prove instrumental to defeating infertility.
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\nMale pregnancy however, is dangerous and a new field of study, with little medical evidence to prove its safety and feasibility. With the dangers involved with implantation of the placenta, the removal of the placenta and delivery of the baby, male pregnancy is extremely complex and would pose many dangers to the male involved.
\nMale pregnancy also endangers the males life and wellbeing, as male bodies are not designed to accommodate pregnancy, and severe repercussions may result, from the malformation of the fetus to the damage of internal organs for the males involved.","dateCreated":"1274840708","smartDate":"May 25, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"kennysoccer25","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/kennysoccer25","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"24621283","body":"(sorry for posting these late -> was done yesterday but slept at the comp)","dateCreated":"1274841042","smartDate":"May 25, 2010","userCreated":{"username":"kennysoccer25","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/kennysoccer25","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]}],"more":false},"comments":[]},"http":{"code":200,"status":"OK"},"redirectUrl":null,"javascript":null,"notices":{"warning":[],"error":[],"info":[],"success":[]}}