Everyone has reproductive anatomy, and everyone can have reproductive health concerns. The Transgender Reproductive Health Service at Boston Children’s Hospital provides inclusive reproductive health care for people of all gender identities and anatomies.
Our approach to transgender reproductive health
We recognize that your reproductive health needs may be as unique as you are. Our goal is to help you address your reproductive health needs in a way that aligns with your gender identity and your relationship to your anatomy. That’s why we provide a variety of reproductive health services to our patients. These include:
- management of bleeding, pelvic pain, or other gynecologic concerns for people on gender-affirming testosterone therapy
- menstrual suppression
- contraception counseling
- gender-affirming hysterectomies (including ovarian-sparing hysterectomies and hysterectomies done in coordination with phalloplasty/metoidioplasty). We only perform gender-affirming hysterectomies on patients who are age 18 or older.
- dilation therapy and care of neovaginas for people who have undergone gender-affirming vaginoplasty
We also provide fertility counseling for families exploring these options. There are a number of paths in fertility preservation. For those who ultimately decide to pursue oocyte retrieval (egg freezing) or sperm banking, we work closely with the Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to make your referral process seamless. For those who ultimately decide to pursue ovarian tissue cryopreservation, we work in coordination with the Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to retrieve the tissue here in our program and store it at Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery facilities.
Our approach to language
One of our main goals is to make our patients and their families feel welcome. This includes being attentive to the ways in which you may reference you own body. During your visit, we’ll ask you what language you use to describe your body and its functions. We also follow intersex-inclusive policies and approaches when discussing sex and anatomy.
Our commitment to the community
The clinicians in the Transgender Reproductive Health Service are also active in the community as well as in transgender health advocacy. We’re committed to ensuring that our practices are in line with the latest research in these areas, and we conduct our own research as well. We also recognize the intersectional identities of many of our patients, particularly our patients of color. We aim make our program reflective and welcoming of all trans and gender-diverse individuals.
