Kim Kardashian had two awful pregnancies with North and Saint. She had preeclampsia with her first pregnancy (North) and she was induced at 34 weeks. With her second pregnancy, her doctors basically had to operate on her reproductive system for hours because there were so many complications. After that, she knew that her body wouldn’t be able to go through another pregnancy. Apparently, she did ask her doctors about it though, and they told her that it’s not even a discussion – the answer was no, under no uncertain terms. Kim discussed all of this as part of her promotion for SKIMS, wherein nine women talk about what cause they’re supporting during this holiday season. The thing is… Kim’s cause is the Bail Project, which has nothing to do with reproductive health issues. Still, she spoke at length about those issues.
Kim Kardashian West is opening up about her harrowing yet fulfilling journey to motherhood. On Thursday, Kim, 39, shared a video as part of her shapewear brand SKIMS’ new 2019 holiday campaign featuring the stories of nine women, including herself, and the causes they believe in. For her story, Kim, who revealed she is supporting the Bail Project, speaks about her struggles with preeclampsia and having to undergo five different surgeries to undo the damage pregnancy caused her body.
“When I was pregnant with my daughter North, I had a condition called preeclampsia or toxemia, which is basically when the mom’s organs start to shut down,” Kim, who is seen wearing an ensemble from her SKIMS Cozy Collection, says in the clip. “The only way to get rid of that is to deliver the baby. At 34 and a half weeks, I had to go into emergency labor — they induced me. North was 4 pounds. She was almost six weeks early,” Kim explains. She later explains in the clip that after her delivery, her placenta never came out, but instead grew inside her uterus. “That is what women die from in childbirth,” Kim says.
Despite the daunting experience, Kim longed for more children with husband Kanye West. However, the reality star, who has previously opened up about fertility complications, struggled to conceive.
“After my daughter was born, I still continued to do the process of freezing my eggs. I was able to get pregnant through that with my son Saint, and then I had two embryos left. I had the same condition, same awful delivery that I had with my first daughter,” Kim explains. “After that, I had to have five different operations within a year and a half to fix the damage that all of that did on the inside.”
After welcoming Saint, now 4, Kim realized she still wanted more kids, but her doctors were against her getting pregnant again. “I asked my doctors, ‘Can I do it one more time?’ And they were like, ‘We won’t even put an embryo in you — that would be like malpractice,’” Kim says.
The KKW Beauty founder shares that’s when she turned to surrogacy. She used two different surrogates for her last two embryos. Kim and Kanye, 42, 23-month-old daughter Chicago in January 2018 and 7-month-old son Psalm in May — both via surrogate. “I’m so thankful for my beautiful kids, no matter how they came to me — they came to me. I’m so thankful for surrogates. I’m really thankful for my family. I grew up with so many siblings. I just loved being in a big environment. I would have gone through the same pain and back for the result of having my babies. It was all worth it,” Kim concludes.
I didn’t know she had five operations in a year and a half after North was born. I remember that Saint’s delivery was really difficult too and there was talk about Kim being in operation for hours. Woof, these pregnancy/labor horror stories always make me sick to my stomach. There’s so much that can go wrong, there are so many ways our bodies turn against us. Poor Kim.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.
I appreciate her being open with her pregnancy struggles. I think people are quick to judge when it comes to surrogacy.
I’m not. In fact I think it’s only spun up in the media by misogynists; it’s just another way to judge women for them.
The only woman I personally know who had a baby via surrogate is a woman who had developed full on eclampsia at the 24 week mark. Both she and her daughter survived but only barely.
You never know what women are going through when it comes to pregnancy and fertility. It’s great of her to talk about it.
It is very brave of her to talk about it. Pregnancy is so often sold as something every normal woman should want at any cost, while the physical danger is downplayed.
Having said that, that’s also why the choice of surrogacy needs to be looked at very carefully. Not only are there the normal dangers of any pregnancy, the injections, restrictions and impidements to a surrogate’s daily life are daunting – not to mention the normal hormonal rush bonding them to a baby that they will then have to give up. I’ve said before that there’s a reason why it’s predominately women of a lower social-economic bracket who are serving as surrogates and why women like Kim and her sisters aren’t giving this ‘selfless gift’. Women like Elizabeth Bank act as if this is an entirely personal choice of empowerment – but I think we need to think very hard on exactly who is being empowered in these outsourced pregnancies, no matter the reason for doing so.
Thank you Lulu. Surrogacy should not be “a given”. As someone who can’t have children, I could never wrap my head around surrogacy (especially in my country where it is illegal and couples go to Ukraine to desperate woman for this)
I agree as long as we don’t lose sight of the fact that some of these same women do it because it brings them immense joy to give the gift of parenthood. In some states only the birth mother’s expenses are covered and they still are very happy to do it.
Thank you, MonicaCK! No one (I hope) enters into these contracts lightly, but there are people who choose to carry pregnancies for others for reasons outside of poverty and need. They simply want to help someone and are able to do it, so they do.
She’s not being brave talking about it, she’s advertising and marketing for Skims. Same story, different day.
Thank you.
@ Jenner : Exactly. I don’t believe a word that comes from anyone in that family. Everything is doled out for dramatic effect and marketing impact. It doesn’t matter if it’s the truth or a lie – it only matters that it will bring in money and/or raise the TV ratings for their show. Sad but true IMO.
Minority opinion:
All the pregnancies in that family since North that have been by surrogate. Kourtney apparently had easy pregnancies, but after seeing what Kim went through, using their wealth and avoiding risks seemed the way to go.
@Gatorlover you think kylie used a surrogate at age 19, with a guy she’s been with for mere weeks? and hid from the media that entire pregnancy? to reappear as a teen mom for what benefit? she wasn’t celebrated for that
@Olive – Yes, Kylie hid from the media the entire time. Remember how it was because she was changing her lifestyle once and for all so her child wouldn’t be subjected to the spotlight? As for “a guy she has been with for mere weeks”, she never was “with him” at all. He was cast in a role. And you don’t think Kylie was romanticized to her teen market for her new “Madonna and child” storyline? You weren’t seeing the same media I was lol
I’m not entirely sure I believe her TBH.
@Jenner
Eggzactly!
Why should we believe ANYTHING this scamming group women tell us.
She’s only trying to sell product.
Exactly. Sorry, but I just can’t believe a single word out of her mouth.
Exactly; this info being given at this time is just designed to tug at your heartstrings and then your wallet.
I’m not sure “looking at” surrogacy, carefully or not, solves those issues. Not that I don’t feel it isn’t a valid fact — but does limiting surrogacy in any way affect the needs that inspire people to become surrogates in the first place? Yes, absolutely, rich people take advantage of poor(er) people’s labor and bodies, especially when lack of social programs and support, not to mention racism, limits their options. I don’t disagree with anything you say. I just worry the larger disease is being ignored when we focus on symptoms, and I also worry how easy it us for us to focus specifically on those symptoms which are (erroneously) seen as only concerning women or women’s health. (See also: the current moral panic over mica in cosmetics, when the beauty industry isn’t even close to being the driving force in that market.)
Surrogacy can present some ethical quandaries. It has always made me uneasy from an ethical standpoint, especially because, yes, most surrogates come from a lower socio-economic class and are more likely to be women of color. And so there’s the potential for an imbalance of power because many surrogates come from marginalized parts of society. Informed consent is important. I also think surrogates should *always* be paid an additional fee beyond just their health care costs being covered. They are, after all, providing a service! And they should be paid for it. I know that surrogacy is already expensive and freezing eggs is expensive etc so surrogacy is really only available to rich people. But it just boggles the mind that a woman who grows your own child for you inside of her body, and assumes all of the health risks that pregnancy entails (including the risk of permanent complications/damage to her own reproductive system), and may herself face workplace discrimination or other problems, AND may suffer emotional distress as a result of the pregnancy, does not get paid for it. (At least in some states). The whole idea of surrogacy always makes me uneasy and worried for the surrogates themselves. The socio-economic facet of it just compounds my fear.
Surrogacy is also in a legal gray area in many places, and obviously the surrogate will be outmatched financially if a legal issue arises.
Most surrogates had children young, which is a great decision reproductively, but horrible financially. While those in need of a surrogate are often in a financial place to afford it because they delayed reproduction.
Pregnancy/childbirth is enormously punishing on the body, I think people often forget that.
Minimizing the physical and emotional stress of pregnancy, delivery and recovery comes from all ends of the horseshoe – you have the right wing religious extremists and the left wing natural is best extremists both saying that pregnancy is natural! it can’t be bad! And you have the chauvinism still inherent in medicine (how many doctors poo poo what women are saying?), along with an insurance system in which they don’t want to pay for anything that might make the whole process better, and finally just regular unicorn women who kind of enjoy bragging that they felt great the entire time, everything went great in the delivery room and she’s been pooping rainbows since. There’s a difference between talking about a genuinely positive experience all the way through (which some women get! Good on em!) and bragging/implying that every other woman effed up because she didn’t feel like a splendiferous birth goddess.
Also, Kaiser, I wanted to say that I clicked on this because it was a birth thread, not a Kim thread. I really don’t love the Kardashians so I try never to click!
This. The baby is made off a womans breath, blood and bone more or less literally. Tahts whether the baby has your DNA or not.
Those hormonal changes have an effect. I lost a tooth as a direct result of my second pregnancy. I had excellent nutrition, exe ellent dental etc. Hormonal changes occur and can effect soft tissues.
Then there’s the birth process, possible damage done via that, whether you choose medicated birth or not.
You just have to hope for the best. It’s a fact that growing humans pretty has, often enough, some unforeseen temporary and permanent consequences. Not always bad though, sometimes good.
She’s lucky that she has the extreme wealth that allows her to harvest and freeze her eggs and hire surrogates. Most women in her position don’t have those options.
Yeah, and also the money to have these operations and have Child care while she recovers.
Sure, it’s been tough for her, but she’s rich and have been taken care of.
Most women aren’t..
I feel bad for the majority of women who don’t have her wealth. Good medical care is a luxury in this country.
I am actually starting the process of being a gestational carrier for an old friend whose wife cannot carry a pregnancy due to an illness. We are very much in the exploratory phase, but I sincerely hope it all works out. I have carried and birthed my own 3 children, but I genuinely loved being pregnant. In addition to the medical screening to make sure a potential carrier is able to physically handle a healthy pregnancy, they also take steps to insure psychological health and financial independence. I.e., making sure the surrogate or gestational carrier is not going to be relying on the pregnancy as her sole income.
My husband has a million and one questions about the process, but is tentatively supportive, which is another important piece of the puzzle. Any fertility specialist wants to make sure that the carrier has the support of her family.
This is partly in response to the commenter Above, but also just informational, as I have been learning so much as I start down this road. My view is: if my body is good at getting pregnant and having full-term, healthy babies with uncomplicated deliveries, and I *enjoy* the pregnancy/delivery process, why not at least look into helping someone create the family they’ve always wanted, if we both have the means and the time?
That’s such a wonderful thing you’re doing! I wish you all well in your journey, Wamamax2!
I recently found out I’m pregnant with our first, and I get very nervous reading about all these possible complications. It’s nice to also see the other side of the coin! 🙂
Congratulations and I wish you an easy pregnancy! If it ends up being uncomfortable and frustrating, though, know that it’s only temporary and the payoff is a BABY! lol. Sometimes we just need the reminder. It also does one well to remember that those with awful, scary pregnancies like to talk about them (as they should! It’s healthy and cathartic), but there are just as many people who had unremarkable, or even enjoyable, births and pregnancies.
Wishing you the best!
What a beautiful thing to want to do for your friend! I hope it works out for all of you.
So people on the internet are saying the reason why she has lupus and all these health complications is because of the fake stuff in hee body. K Michelle had so much complications like lupus bc of her fake butt. Idk just a random thought.
She doesn’t actually have lupus, she has psoriatic arthritis which is caused by a gene that also causes psoriasis.
My middle daughter, after having her own child, was a surrogate for my oldest daughter, who lost her fertility while battling leukemia in her teens. It was an amazing and heartwarming experience for everyone. Now my middle daughter is about to deliver her second child, after two rounds of IVF herself, due to problems with her husband’s fertility when they tried to conceive again. And…. my oldest and her hubby are 10 weeks pregnant with a different surrogate, a wonderful woman who has two children of her own, and always wanted to give the gift of life to struggling infertile couples. We, as a family, feel lucky, blessed, amazed and grateful.
Aww that’s a beautiful story!
Thank you. Everyone has their own story. Their own choices. Their own life experiences. Personally, I think it is a gift from God that we now have those choices.
I am not a fan of Kim K but I am sorry to hear about all the complications she suffered. So much of pregnancy and post-natal care is still a secret.
I had awful pre-natal depression with passive suicidal thoughts and when I told my OB, I was sent to the psych ward for 24 hours and was given meds when I promised not to hurt myself or my baby. Except I NEVER wanted to hurt myself or my baby, hence why they were passive thoughts. It has made me eternally wary of sharing my psychological struggles with doctors for fear of being thrown in a psych ward again, which is a shame because I think it is super important to care for your mental health.
I have distrust with psychiatric care as well. I went through something very similar and when I called to speak to a counselor, my insurance provider made it sound like they were going to do this to me. I remember being incredibly desperate and sad and I felt like I was sinking. I had a 4 month old baby and I had just miscarried my second. (We got pregnant the first time we had sex after baby.) A friend gave me marijuana and I remember after I smoked it I was able to see my child again and I wasn’t in such a terrible state of depression. It really helped me. I was very close to self harming. I also wasn’t producing milk and that killed me that I couldn’t provide that for her. I felt like a total and complete failure as a woman. I’m better now but that first year as a mom was both heaven and hell for me.
That is really discouraging to hear. My daughter has anxiety and depression. She is in therapy and now sees a psychiatrist because she started antidepressant medication. We involved the school because it was affecting her academics. Every professional we sought help from asked the same two questions 1) Do you have suicidal thoughts? 2) Do you have a plan?
I am sorry you both did not feel supported. People need to be able to seek out help without fear.
I think a lot of my wariness comes from being sent to Labor and Delivery and told a psychiatrist would be down to see me and they never came down, instead I was shuffled off to the psych ward, unaware, and of course became hysterical when they told me I could not leave.
A few months ago I was going through major anxiety due to my impending divorce and the fact that my husband already has a girlfriend and I was in a tailspin, scared to seek help lest a situation like that happened again. My insurance suggested I go to the ER to get meds and I’m pretty sure I was telling random strangers I was not suicidal (I truly was not) because I was terrified of what would happen. Luckily the ER nurses and doctors were awesome and listened to me and gave me suggestions for people to see to seek help in the future, but at this point I’m still just winging it.
@Meghan That is horrible how you were treated. You have every right to know what is going on with your medical care. That is outrageous that they lied to you. It must have been terrifying.
Therapy has been amazing for my daughter. We had to try a few different therapists but she found a great match about a year ago and it has been really key to her dealing with her depression and anxiety in a healthy way.
.
My husband’s nephew and his wife couldn’t have their own children because she has lupus and is on some pretty heavy-duty meds that prevent her from conceiving. His twin brother’s wife was a surrogate for them – everything worked out beautifully for both couples.
Every story about births with preeclampsia/ toxemia gets me in the gut & I’m immediately transported back to July of 1998 with my 6 week early, 4 pound son, praying and terrified. I’m baffled, upset & angry that women’s & pregnancy health care is such a shitshow in America & in effect a rich woman’s pursuit. My heart is warmed to know many can & do share their body’s wealth & health with surrogacy. I’m concerned about everyone else though, lower income families without access to great care at the time of birth but also follow up care. I was sick & in pain with lots of complications for seven years after my preeclampsia – until I could afford surgery on my own, after moving out of state. I send well wishes to all the babies and mamas. Pregnancy and childbirth is rife with complications, it’s not an easy, breezy IG picture moment for most & should not be ‘sold’ as that, either. It’s got a moderate to high level of risk and should be taught thusly. Our kids need to know that pregnancy without health & healthcare is dangerous to both the child & its future development but also for the life of the mother. I’m not sure where or if it’s part of curriculum to teach about possible outcomes of ‘unhealthy’ (bad word choice) pregnancies, beyond like, drugs/alcohol, behaviors damaging to the fetus. I wish we’d teach – to all genders- how dangerous & damaging pregnancy can be to female bodies, to educate our population for the actual benefit of our frickin population. Cuz, ya know. Knowing is half the battle and all that shit. Nicegirl rant over 😉
I think Kim makes up partial truths to suit what topics or endeavors that she promoting. I think her vanity played a big part in her surrogates.
Agree!
I think 5 different operations is a light summer schedule for her. She thinks no more of surgery than she does a nail appointment.
It’s possible her pregnancy complications are unrelated to her massive cosmetic procedures, but if we’re discussing the trauma of pregnancy related surgeries let’s acknowledge that all surgery is physically/emotionally traumatic with ongoing impacts, and that’s what the Kardashiann-Jenners are selling and normalizing, physical trauma. I’m sorry she suffered so much with her pregnancies but horrified by her shilling dangerous, painful cosmetic procedures.
Well said, I agree ^^
In my cynical mind I wondered maybe 1 surgery was actually needed for her pregnancy related issues and the rest were to “fix the damage” to her body she deemed altered by pregnancy like a tummy tuck, lipo, new boob job etc
I wondered the same. If they had to go in five times to repair damage, that sounds off. I’m leaning towards maybe one or two pregnancy related, and the rest cosmetic. Either way, I’m sorry she struggled, and that so many women struggle as well.
I nearly died from pre-eclampsia and its nasty older sister/partner, HELLP Syndrome. My blood literally stopped clotting because my red blood cells ruptured (hemolysis, the H in HELLP and also a possible complication of pre-eclampsia). And when your blood stops clotting, especially while giving birth with a placenta complication like Kim had— YEAH. It can easily take five surgeries to fix the damage. I needed three to drain hematomas (which took months to heal) and two to address damage to my cervix and uterus from excessive bleeding. That doesn’t count the surgeries I still need a dozen years later to remove scar tissue that has adhered to my internal organs.
So I highly doubt she’s exaggerating her surgeries. She had a preemie and nearly died from the combo of PE and placental complications. That lines up with the news coverage at the time.
What makes me angry and upset is that she’s telling this traumatic story to promote BODYSHAPERS. It doesn’t even connect to the Bail Project. Preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Women die here in the US because they can’t afford prenatal care. Hell, even women like me with excellent health care die of it. And a lot of women die later from the PTSD they get from PE. She’s not telling this story to raise awareness or money for PE research. She’s not using her platform and experience to combat maternal death. She made it part of a corporate marketing campaign for underwear, FFS.
This doesn’t make any sense. She says it was an emergency with North and she had to be induced, but hasn’t she said previously that she went to McDonald’s and also got her nails done? This is a very weird woman.
Their show should be called “Keeping up with the lies we tell”…
Wait, so why would any doctor do IVF on her if she had such a dangerous first pregnancy? She said the same thing happened with both pregnancies. So it was dangerous to have three or four pregnancies but two was ok? I really have a hard time believing anything she says because she is known to lie a lot. She also said she had fertility issues with North yet she got pregnant with her very quickly after stopping her birth control. It’s also odd she has no problem talking about all the operations she had to “fix” the damage of pregnancy but still to this day won’t admit to having ANY plastic surgery. Go figure.
Lady D, YES!!! 1,000 percent.
Good thing she has good healthcare and money to do IVF and pay a surrogate! One of my good friends is in her early thirties and has been trying to get pregnant for years but her and her husband run a small business and can’t afford IVF or other fertility treatments (I think they have health insurance through the HealthExchange site but what they can afford doesn’t cover anything). It’s so unfair that women in the US can’t pursue having a family unless they have a lot of money or access to “good” insurance (usually through working for a large corporation or government jobs). I had crappy Obamacare insurance as well when my husband and I decided to try and start a family and if we had issues then we probably didn’t have any other options since we are also self employed. Luckily I got pregnant right away and was able to get on Medicaid since I live in a Medicaid expanded state and had a healthy pregnancy and didn’t have to pay for anything out of pocket for the pregnancy. Of course three months after I had the baby I was kicked off Medicaid, right when I started experiencing post partum anxiety pretty bad but ] basically had to just deal with it on my own since I didn’t have any insurance. I just signed up for another shitty Obamacare plan that basically doesn’t do anything until I’ve spent like $10k out of pocket but I guess it’s better than nothing (barely!). I’m just so frustrated with the US healthcare system and while I’m glad Kim got the care she needed and was able to have her family, so many American women don’t have that option. In America if you don’t have good insurance and/or money I guess we are ok with people just dying instead of being decent humans and getting universal coverage.