Kim Kardashian and Kanye West welcomed their third child via surrogate on January 15. Just a few days following the birth of their healthy baby girl who weighed in at 7 lbs. and 6 oz. , Kim shared her family’s joy with fans.
“The connection with our baby came instantly and it’s as if she was with us the whole time. Having a gestational carrier was so special for us and she made our dreams of expanding our family come true. We are so excited to finally welcome home our baby girl,” she wrote on her app.
Kim also used this opportunity to explain why she and her husband decided to hire a surrogate to carry their child. “I have always been really honest about my struggles with pregnancy. Preeclampsia and placenta accreta are high-risk conditions, so when I wanted to have a third baby, doctors said that it wasn’t safe for my – or the baby’s – health to carry on my own. ”
Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and damage to the liver and kidneys. According to the Mayo Clinic, if the condition is left untreated, it can lead to serious, sometimes fatal, complications for both the mother and baby. Placenta accrete is a complication in which the placenta attaches itself too deeply into the wall of the uterus. The risks with this include premature birth and the resulting complications.
Kim continued, “After exploring many options, Kanye and I decided to use a gestational carrier. Although I have used the term surrogate in the past, a gestational carrier is actually the technical term for a woman who carries a baby that she has no biological relationship to. A traditional surrogate donates her egg, is artificially inseminated with the father’s sperm and then carries the baby to term. Since we implanted my fertilized egg in our gestational carrier, our baby is biologically mine and Kanye’s. ”
As Kim explains, gestational surrogacy allows for both intended parents to be biologically related to their child. Couples often choose this method due to the inability to conceive, the age of the mother, a history of miscarriages, or a host of other health issues. Increasingly, families are turning to gestational surrogacy. According to theCenters for Disease Control, the number of gestational carrier cycles in the US increased from 727 in 1999 to 3,432 in 2013.
“Having a gestational carrier is definitely different, but anyone who says or thinks it’s the easy way out is completely wrong. People assume it’s better because you don’t have to deal with the physical changes, pain or complications with delivery, but for me it was so hard to not carry my own child, especially after I carried North and Saint,” Kim said.
“I’m so grateful for modern technology and that this is even possible. It’s not for everyone, but I absolutely love my gestational carrier and this was the best experience I’ve ever had. Our gestational carrier gave us the greatest gift one could give. ”
The 37-year-old mother has not been shy about her struggles with pregnancy in the past, and her high-risk pregnancies were well documented on KUWTK. After giving birth to her son Saint West, she told E! News, “I just don’t think pregnancy and me really agree with each other. ” Still, the famous couple is excited to grow their family.
