The dad who gave birth: ‘Being pregnant doesn’t change me being a trans man’

Transitioning meant that Freddy McConnell finally felt comfortable in his skin. Then he began a quest to conceive and carry his own child

Freddy McConnell takes out his phone and shows me a film of his baby snoring contentedly. Jack is gorgeous, with blond hair, blue eyes and heavy eyelids, and McConnell is the classic doting dad – albeit more hands-on than most. It’s a year since he gave birth to Jack, an experience he describes as life-changing. He has also made an intimate and moving film about that experience, from the decision to have a baby, through pregnancy and the delivery. Everything is documented in close-up, including Jack’s arrival in a hospital birthing pool.

You might expect McConnell to be an extrovert; an exhibitionist, even. In fact, the Guardian multimedia journalist is reserved and private in a rather old-fashioned, stiff-upper-lip English way. So why on earth would he want to expose himself like this?

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Brazil: judge rules identical twins must both pay support for nine-year-old girl

Twins will each pay 30% of Brazil’s monthly minimum salary after DNA test failed to identify which man was her father

A Brazilian judge has ruled that two identical twins must both pay maintenance for a nine-year-old girl after a DNA test failed to identify which was her father.

Each man will have to pay 30% of Brazil’s monthly minimum salary – around £59 – and share the mother’s medical, dental, clothing and school costs.

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Experience: I gave birth on the run from Isis

Hawar was healthy but I felt nothing but guilt for bringing him into the world

I was nine months pregnant when Islamic State came. It was 2014 and I was living with my husband, Ferhad, and one-year-old son, Haval, in the village of Tal Qasab in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. My husband and I had been childhood sweethearts. We led a simple life, and were very happy.

For a couple of months, we had been worrying about an attack; Isis were targeting the Yazidi people in our region. Then, one August morning, we woke to the news that they had attacked Tuazar, the neighbouring village. We had just sat down to breakfast when a bullet hit our window. I looked outside and realised our neighbours were running for their lives.

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New parents face up to six years of sleep deprivation, study says

Data from thousands of men and women shows rest is at its worst three months after birth

Starting a family is a well-known way to make a good night’s sleep a distant dream, but new research suggests the parental yawns might go on for six years.

Researchers tracking the sleep of thousands of men and women as their family size increased have found that shuteye hits a low about three months after birth – with the effect strongest in women.

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It took more than a decade to explain the sudden death of my precious teenage son | Karen Gardner

Although I wasn’t aware of feeling responsible, the lifting of a sense of heavy burden indicates otherwise

Sitting in the cardiologist’s rooms, awaiting the results of a genetic test that might explain the sudden death of my eldest child, I could not then have imagined the impact on my world of what was to come.

It’s 14 years since Tom died one sunny summer day, but my quest to find a plausible explanation never subsided and I never got used to not knowing why, as I had to get used to living without him.

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Six ways to raise a resilient child

Want to help your children deal with stress and adversity? It’s easier than you think

Helping our children navigate the stresses and strains of daily life is more important than ever. Figures released in November last year by NHS Digital show a worrying rise in young people’s mental health problems; sadly, my experience as a GP confirms this. One in eight children aged between five and 19 in England has a diagnosable mental health condition; the prevalence of emotional disorders, including anxiety and depression, has risen by 48% since 2004. “The pressures young people face range from school stress, bullying and worries about job and housing prospects, to concerns around body image,” says Emma Saddleton, helpline manager at the charity YoungMinds.

While we may not be able to remove all these challenges, we can pass on skills to help young people cope with stress and adversity. “It’s what’s known as resilience,” Saddleton says. “The ability to overcome difficult experiences and be shaped positively by them.” Our brains respond to the information around us, so resilience can be taught, modelled and nurtured at any age. “By doing this, through strong support networks and encouraging communication, we can help young people understand when they feel down and know what they can do to make themselves feel better,” she adds.

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Chris Matthews predicts Trump may resign in a the coming weeksa |…

The Hill reports that House Democrats are making plans for a prolonged shutdown that could start Saturday and last until Jan. 3. Chris Matthews predicts Trump may resign in the coming weeks: MSNBC's Chris Matthews has suggested that President Donald Trump could resign as part of a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller. "What if [Mueller] were to say he would let the children walk if the old man does the same?" Matthews said Monday, according to a Huffington Post report .

Good and plenty: Sunday reflection

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother."

Four Democrats Caught in Voter Fraud Ring Targeting Seniors in Fort Worth

Four Democrats were arrested and charges with running a voter fraud ring targeting senior citizens in Tarrant County near Dallas. Members of an organized voter fraud ring have been arrested and indicted on charges they targeted and, in one case stole, the votes of elderly voters on the city's north side.

Justice Sotomayor focuses on kids, not Kavanaugh, at Chicago event to promote her latest books

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has a hearty laugh as the Chicago Public Library welcomes her in celebration of the release of her two new children's books during an event at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago on Oct. 12, 2018. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has a hearty laugh as the Chicago Public Library welcomes her in celebration of the release of her two new children's books during an event at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago on Oct. 12, 2018.

Protester Asks GOP Senator To ‘Apologize’ To Her Children …

Anti-Brett Kavanaugh protesters flooded Capitol Hill for weeks before his eventual confirmation to the Supreme Court, walking hallways in protest, holding loud demonstrations and confronting senators in their office buildings. Alethea Torrellas Shapiro had been attempting to harass senators on the Hill for days and regularly used her school-aged children to do so.

‘Chief Days’: Audit finds Manchester police gave out 466 extra days…

The report finds the practice of rewarding select officers with extra time off began in the early 1990s under former police chief Louie Craig, expanded "without authorization" by... The maker of a state-of-the-art system that measures the cleanliness of laboratory exhaust air won the state's Product of the Year Award from the New Hampshire Tech ... (more)

As feds focused on detaining kids, border drug prosecutions plummeted

After the crackdown on families began, the number of people charged under federal drug trafficking laws fell to the lowest level since 2001. As feds focused on detaining kids, border drug prosecutions plummeted After the crackdown on families began, the number of people charged under federal drug trafficking laws fell to the lowest level since 2001.

Too Little, Too Late for Many Gubernatorial Candidates on Education Funding

After slashing their states' education funding for years, some incumbent governors up for re-election in 2018 are trying to convince voters that they've seen the error of their ways by claiming that they will prioritize education going forward. But voters should be cautious about believing such promises.

Colorado’s Safe2Tell program sees youth suicide reports increase dramatically, echoing national trend

Communications supervisor Linde Brinkhoff handles a Safe2Tell call at the Colorado State Patrol's Denver regional communications center on Sept. 20. The friend, upset after a breakup with a boyfriend, said she had taken pills and that this would be her final message.