Diane Rodriguez and her partner Fernando Machado are the proud parents of a have a six-week-old baby boy, known affectionately for now only as Caraote – which means “snail” – they are yet to announce his name. What makes this couple unique is that the father gave birth after being impregnated by the mother.
The couple live in Ecuador which, they acknowledge in a story for the BBC, is not an easy place to be a transgender couple raising a family. But the pair are dedicated to making changes and are described as South America’s most high-profile transgender couple. They are the first transgender pair to have a baby in South America.
They are now regularly posting images of their new family on Facebook in a bid to promote their cause and that of the LGBT communities in south America.
The BBC article says the pair met on Facebook when Diane – born as Luis – was looking for someone to share her life with, support her career as an activist and help her achieve her desire to have a family. She met Fernando.
And while both a transgender, neither had had gender reassignment surgery so they could conceive a baby like any other couple and needed no help with fertility.
Fernando, who was born Maria, describes his whirlwind romance: “I was on a bus to Ecuador days after we started chatting online. After three weeks living together, I was pregnant.”
They are now both involved in activism with the hope of bridging the gaps between the Catholic religion, which is strong in South America, and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) groups.
