Mr Thomas Beatie, 34, who is legally male but decided to keep his female sex organs during chest reconstruction surgery and testosterone therapy 10 years ago, attracted worldwide attention in April after revealing his pregnancy.

On Thursday, he confirmed the birth of his daughter to People magazine.

The baby, conceived through artificial insemination using donor sperm and Mr Beatie's own eggs, was born on Sunday at a hospital in Oregon.

Both Mr Beatie and the baby are 'healthy and doing well', People reported.

'The only thing different about me is that I can't breast-feed my baby. But a lot of mothers don't,' the magazine quoted him as saying.

His unusual situation first became public when he wrote an article about it in the leading US gay magazine, The Advocate, in March.

'To our neighbours, my wife Nancy, I don't appear in the least unusual,' he wrote, explaining that his wife was unable to have a child after undergoing a hysterectomy.

'Our situation sparks legal, political and social unknowns,' he wrote, adding that he and his wife had experienced opposition from health-care professionals, friends and family.

Mr Beatie, who sports a beard, also appeared on Oprah Winfrey's television talk show to discuss his pregnancy.

'I feel it is not a male or female desire to have a child. It is a human need. I am a person, and I have the right to have a biological child,' he told the chat-show queen.

His wife, whom he married five years ago, said on Oprah's show that their parental roles would be fairly traditional despite his transgender status.

'He is going to be the father, and I am going to be the mother,' she said.

The couple, who operate a T-shirt printing business in Bend, Oregon, are legally married, and he is recognised under Oregon state law as a man.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS