Gender-affirming hormone therapy consists of feminizing (estrogen) or masculinizing (testosterone) hormones. Many transgender people take hormone therapy as part of a gender transition to help their bodies and appearance align with their gender identity. Masculinizing hormone therapy may limit your fertility. If possible, it's best to make fertility decisions before starting the treatment.
The risk of permanent infertility increases with long-term use of hormones. This is particularly true for those who start hormone therapy before puberty begins. Even after stopping hormone therapy, the ovaries and uterus may not recover enough to become pregnant without infertility treatment. To minimize risk, the goal of people receiving masculinizing hormone therapy is to keep hormone levels within the typical range of cisgender men.
Feminizing hormone therapy is often used by transgender women and non-binary people to produce physical changes in the body caused by female hormones during puberty. Some hormones used in hormone therapy to reaffirm gender are given through an injection that the person using the hormone gives at home, or the person using the hormones can ask someone they trust to give it to them.
Georgia law prohibits performing irreversible procedures or therapy on minors to treat gender dysphoria, including sex reassignment surgery or other surgery to alter sexual characteristics, or hormone replacement therapy.
Iowa law prohibits health professionals from performing surgery or prescribing hormones to a minor in order to attempt to alter the appearance of their gender or sex or to affirm the minor's perception of their gender or sex if that appearance or perception is incompatible with the biological sex of the minor. Missouri law prohibits a healthcare provider from performing gender transition surgery or prescribing hormones for the purpose of gender transition for minors.You should start masculinizing hormone therapy only after talking to a healthcare provider who has experience caring for transgender people about the risks and benefits, as well as treatment alternatives. North Carolina law prohibits medical professionals from performing gender transition surgery or prescribing hormonal treatment to a minor. Research has shown that masculinizing hormone therapy can be safe and effective when provided by a healthcare provider with experience in caring of transgender people. We may be able to start or continue hormone therapy and provide referrals for gender-qualified therapies and resources, if needed.
These hormonal changes cause physical changes that help better align the body with a person's gender identity. Generally, transgender men and non-binary people use masculinizing hormone therapy to produce physical changes in the body caused by male hormones during puberty. Progesterone is a hormone found in cisgender women that is involved in maintaining the balance of the lining of the uterus and promotes pregnancy. To receive gender-affirming hormone therapy services, you must be 18 years of age or older (or 16 to 17 with parental consent) and able to consent to the services.
