History Main / MisterSeahorse

* ''Manga/FamilyCompo'': Yukari and Sora are a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} woman and man respectively. Sora gave birth to their now-adult daughter Shion, though he was initially reluctant.

Sometimes [=MPreg=] is explained by the action taking place in the future, the pregnancy being of [[MysticalPregnancy an explicitly supernatural nature]], or the man being [[BizarreAlienReproduction an alien]], especially if the aliens are hermaphroditic but [[OneGenderRace present as male to our eyes]]. Or if it's otherwise in canon. Some take a more realistic approach by having the character be a pre-op UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} man, possibly mining the pregnancy for [[TransTribulations dysphoric angst]]. Regardless of how it comes about, though, fanfic with this often turns into {{Kidfic}}.

Sometimes [=MPreg=] is explained by the action taking place in the future, the pregnancy being of [[MysticalPregnancy an explicitly supernatural nature]], or the man being [[BizarreAlienReproduction an alien]], especially if the aliens are hermaphroditic but [[OneGenderRace present as male to our eyes]]. Or if it's otherwise in canon. Regardless of how it comes about, though, fanfic with this often turns into {{Kidfic}}.

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'':
** At least some MTF changelings, such as Tabby Cat, have given birth in the past.
** Shortly after transforming, April Arendt (formerly Stephen Braeburn) predicts that she would be pregnant by early 2007.
** It has been stated that [[EldritchAbomination Carmilla]] is capable of impregnating ''any'' human, regardless of either sex or fertility, though [[BodyHorror mercifully]] the details are not given. Just what this means for Carl isn't clear, though it is not as if there wouldn't be some LaserGuidedKarma in him getting pregnant. So far, the only one she has actually impregnated has been female.

* In the ''Literature/WildCards'' series, Dr. Tachyon has his [[FreakyFridayFlip mind swapped]] by his AxeCrazy grandson Blaise, who leaves him a teenaged girl's body. Blaise rapes her repeatedly, eventually getting her pregnant shortly before leaving Earth (with the girl [[GrandTheftMe trapped in Tachyon's original body]] in tow). By the time Tachyon has gotten back into his original body, s/he had not only given birth, but had gotten pregnant again.

A cisgender male character gets pregnant through FunctionalMagic, [[MadScientist weird science]], [[GenderBender gender-bending]], BizarreAlienBiology, [[FreakyFridayFlip body swapping]], [[UnscaledMerfolk actually being a seahorse]], or ThePowerOfLove overcoming [[ArtisticLicenseBiology biology]] (read: bad writing). Usually played for laughs since PregnancyDoesNotWorkThatWay in real life, but it can be done seriously or even tragically, especially when it's from a FaceFullOfAlienWingWong.

* [[http://hinoneko.deviantart.com/art/Seahorse-Fanfiction-75876070 This]] short little comic strip on Website/DeviantArt parodies and inverts this with cute little seahorses.

This trope is popular in FanFiction, where it's known as [=MPreg=]. It is often a subgenre of {{slash}} fiction if the other parent is [[HomosexualReproduction male too]]. Don't be surprised if the pregnant character is hit with a heavy dose of {{Ukefication}} for good measure.

This trope is popular in FanFiciton, where it's known as [=MPreg=]. It is often a subgenre of {{slash}} fiction if the other parent is [[HomosexualReproduction male too]]. Don't be surprised if the pregnant character is hit with a heavy dose of {{Ukefication}} for good measure.

A cisgender male character gets pregnant through FunctionalMagic, [[MadScientist weird science]], [[GenderBender gender-bending]], BizarreAlienBiology, [[FreakyFridayFlip body swapping]], [[UnscaledMerfolk actually being a seahorse]], or just plain bad writing. Usually played for laughs since RealLife PregnancyDoesNotWorkThatWay, but it can be done seriously or even tragically, especially when it's from a FaceFullOfAlienWingWong.

Especially common in {{fanfic}}. [=MPreg=] stories frequently result in the pregnant character being hit with a heavy dose of {{Ukefication}}. It is often given [[HandWave no more explanation]] than ThePowerOfLove [[ArtisticLicenseAnatomy overcoming]] [[ArtisticLicenseBiology biology]].

The trope name comes from the fact that male seahorses have an egg pouch. In it, they receive and fertilize the egg cells of their mates, and carry them to term. Not quite the same as a mammalian pregnancy (or the few fish and reptiles that birth live young), but it certainly appears as such to human eyes, especially when the young leave the pouch.[[labelnote:note]]However, biologists have discovered that hormones similar to those found in pregnant female mammals are also active in the male seahorse, whose pouch lining becomes highly vasculatized to supply the embryos with oxygen and nutrients similar to a placenta, so for all intents and purposes it ''can'' actually be viewed as a pregnancy, so to speak.[[/labelnote]]

Fictional examples may involve BizarreAlienBiology, BizarreAlienSexes, BizarreAlienReproduction, BizarreSexualDimorphism, and LactatingMale. If the other parent is also male, you've got HomosexualReproduction. Can be BodyHorror for men. Compare EggLayingMale for when a biologically male character lays eggs. See also ChestBurster and AssShove for the potential non-C-section routes of exit, and PregnantReptile for another trope about a character getting pregnant/giving birth when they shouldn't be able to. If the setting permits, male-male reproduction is best achieved with a UterineReplicator.

A male character gets pregnant through FunctionalMagic, [[MadScientist weird science]], [[GenderBender gender-bending]], BizarreAlienBiology, [[FreakyFridayFlip body swapping]], [[UnscaledMerfolk actually being a seahorse]], or just plain bad writing. Usually played for laughs since RealLife PregnancyDoesNotWorkThatWay, but it can be done seriously or even tragically, especially when it's from a FaceFullOfAlienWingWong.

%%* This is how Cockatrice was born in ''Literature/TheBookOfTheDunCow''.

* In ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryDoubleFeature'', a DyingRace of [[TheGreys aliens]] kidnap humans in order to produce hybrids that could perpetuate their race. In the beginning of the ''Death Valley'' arc, four young adults are abducted by aliens (two men and two women), and upon returning to Earth all four of them are revealed to be pregnant. They are later kidnapped by the MenInBlack and locked in a facility where an equal number of pregnant men and women are waiting for the birth of their hybrid child. As to how the alien baby will be born? ''"Life finds its way..."''

* An American broadcast ad for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation version of ''The Game of LIFE'' had a male player excitedly landing on the square that tells you you're having a baby -- and appearing heavily pregnant as a result. He was also wearing a [[pink: pink]] shirt.

* ''Comicbook/{{Concrete}}'': The title character accidentally triggers his body's previously unknown asexual reproductive system and ends up pregnant, complete with aches, pains, morning sickness, and mood swings. His girlfriend is thrilled. Justified in that he is a human man's brain transplanted into an alien body.

* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': Purple PlanetEater ComicBook/{{Galactus}} was recently revealed to have a daughter, Galacta, which led to some rife speculation about who her mom was. Turns out it was also [[TrulySingleParent Galactus]]. He also specifies that he was pregnant with her.

* ''Comicbook/{{Lucifer}}'': The male archangel Michael is used as the (giant-sized) incubator for the "army of archangels" in the second book.
* ''Comicbook/{{PS238}}'': PlayedForLaughs when [[MuggleBornOfMages Tyler]] (who's eight) misunderstands the effect of an alien virus:

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' season 1 finale had Dr. Venture rushed to the hospital to extract a large growth in his stomach that turned out to be his twin brother living inside him since before birth. His sons are clueless enough to conclude he's conventionally pregnant.

* In one Sex-Ed PSA after two teenagers get magically transported to a gameshow style realm. After declaring that [[TheWarOnStraw pregnancy is solely a girl's responsibility]] among other creeds, they temporarily made him pregnant to teach him some respect. It was certainly one of the more bizarre Sex-Ed videos out there.

* An Creator/AnneMcCaffrey short story in which an alien prostitute impregnates half the male population of a small town. The title, "Literature/AHorseFromADifferentSea", references the seahorse analogy.

Fictional examples may involve BizarreAlienBiology, BizarreAlienSexes, BizarreAlienReproduction, BizarreSexualDimorphism, and LactatingMale. If the other parent is also male, you've got HomosexualReproduction. Can be BodyHorror for men. Compare EggLayingMale for when a biologically male character lays eggs. See also ChestBurster and AssShove for the potential non-C-section routes of exit, and PregnantReptile for another trope about a character getting pregnant/giving birth when they shouldn't be able too. If the setting permits, male-male reproduction is best achieved with a UterineReplicator.

This is theoretically possible in real life. [[MadScientist A scientist]] was able to implant an embryo in the abdominal wall of a male baboon, and others report that it is indeed possible to get a man pregnant if the embryo is planted at the proper spot, but only if the man is pumped full of pregnancy hormones. The embryo [[TheMoreYouKnow can create its own placenta]].[[note]]http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2005-07/male-pregnancy-dangerous-proposition[[/note]] Unfortunately, the abdominal wall is not designed to detach from the placenta, resulting in [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank massive bloody injury]]. There's also no obvious route of exit, and the baby would have to be removed via c-section. Male volunteers, not wanting to risk their lives on such a venture, have not been forthcoming. The most likely way you'll see a pregnant man in real life is if he's UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} and still fertile.

This is theoretically possible in real life. [[MadScientist A scientist]] was able to implant an embryo in the abdominal wall of a male baboon, and others report that it is indeed possible to get a man pregnant if the embryo is planted at the proper spot, but only if the man is pumped full of pregnancy hormones. The embryo [[TheMoreYouKnow can create its own placenta]].[[note]]http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2005-07/male-pregnancy-dangerous-proposition[[/note]] Unfortunately, the abdominal wall is not designed to detach from the placenta, resulting in [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank massive bloody injury]]. There's also no obvious route of exit, and the baby would have to be removed via c-section. Male volunteers, not wanting to risk their lives on such a venture, have not been forthcoming. The most likely way you'll see a pregnant man in real life is if he's UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} and still fertile. In fact, "seahorse dad" has become an affectionate slang term for such fathers.

* Max Sweeney in ''Series/TheLWord'' plays this trope for Drama. In a story {{ripped from the headlines}}, Max, [[http://www.autostraddle.com/a-letter-to-mama-chaiken-from-ftm-computer-search-champion-mighty-max-sweeney/ a transgender man, becomes pregnant after having sex with a cisgender man, Tom.]] (although the article is clean, the site may be considered NSFW).

In the 2022 film, Resurrection, a woman is stalked by her ex-boyfriend, who killed their baby 18 years before. However, he claims that he merely swallowed the infant whole and that the baby has been alive inside him for all these years. At the film's climax, the woman ties him up and slices him open, revealing the live baby that she pulls out of his body. While it seems like she gets her happy ending, [[spoiler:the ending implies that she may have been hallucinating the whole ordeal.]]

* ''Film/Two4One'': A rare realistic example with trans man Adam getting pregnant.

* The entire plot of the comic book ''ComicBook/AlsBaby''. In the near future, Al Bestardi (also known as Al the Beast) is the number one enforcer for Don Luigi, an aging mobster who rules Chicago, and who gave Al permission to marry his only daughter, Velma. Luigi decides that [[IWantGrandkids he needs a grandchild in order to carry on his legacy]]. Unfortunately for Al, Velma refuses to get pregnant, as it would interfere with her career as a torch singer - and as it happens, male pregnancy is now medically possible via surgery...I think we all know where this is going.

* Comicbook/{{Concrete}} accidentally triggers his body's previously unknown asexual reproductive system and ends up pregnant, complete with aches, pains, morning sickness, and mood swings. His girlfriend is thrilled. Justified in that he is a human man's brain transplanted into an alien body.
* ''ComicBook/TheFabulousFurryFreakBrothers'' - in one story, Phineas gets his girlfriend pregnant - they're both pleased with the news, but her father is definitely not, and demands she get an abortion. Phineas takes her to a MadScientist friend who suggests an alternative, and transplants the fetus into Phineas. After that things start to [[AllJustADream get weird.]]
* Purple PlanetEater ComicBook/{{Galactus}} was recently revealed to have a daughter, Galacta, which led to some rife speculation about who her mom was. Turns out it was also [[TrulySingleParent Galactus]]. He also specifies that he was pregnant with her.
* In the far future of ''ComicBook/{{Grendel}}'', planetary emperor Orion Assante must carry his heir to term himself, as his wife's health is too fragile to handle a pregnancy. Justified in that futuristic medicine allows for surgical implantation of the embryo, as well as a Caesarian birth. Years later, male pregnancy is still kept as a sacred tradition to birth new rulers.

* ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'' series:
** Adam Warlock goes through a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind VisionQuest in which he is turned female, culminating in his/her giving birth.

* In ''Comicbook/{{Lucifer}}'', the male archangel Michael is used as the (giant-sized) incubator for the "army of archangels" in the second book.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Comicbook/{{PS238}},'' when [[MuggleBornOfMages Tyler]] (who's eight) misunderstands the effect of an alien virus:

* Marvel Comics' ''ComicBook/{{Quasar}}'' had a cover image with him in costume clutching a pregnant belly in the same fashion as Demi Moore's cover on ''Vanity Fair'' (see Print Media below).
* Franchise/SpiderMan once turned into a real giant spider, got pregnant, died and finally gave birth to himself in human form with all of his memories intact and new powers. [[AudienceAlienatingEra This story has not been referenced much since]].

* ''Film/Evolution2015'' (not to be confused with the [[Film/{{Evolution}} 2001 film of the same name]]) is about an island where a race of {{Sea Monster}}s that resemble human women live with human boys they have kidnapped from the mainland; the boys are used as surrogate mothers for the "women's" biological daughters unbeknownst to them -- [[DeathByChildbirth and don't always survive the pregnancy]].