04 November 2023 , 18:12
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Kourtney Kardashian has become a mum for the fourth time - but her most recent route to motherhood hasn't been easy.
The 44-year-old - who shares Mason, 13, Penelope, 11 and eight-year-old Reign with her ex-partner Scott Disick - was filmed exploring fertility treatment options with her husband Travis Barker, 47. The newlyweds were seen visiting different specialists near their Calabasas home in The Kardashians, and Kourtney was very open about how the drugs she had to take for the couple to embark on an IVF journey had a huge negative impact on her mental health.
Eventually the couple fell pregnant naturally with no medical assistance after they stopped the IVF process. Kourtney said she believed it finally happened as they stopped “forcing the process”. She added; “I knew deep down that it wasn't the right thing. And in fact, I kept telling Travis: If we're meant to have a baby, then it's just going to happen. And so it was: When we stopped forcing the process, then it happened."
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Kourtney Kardashian has given birth to her fourth child (kourtneykardash /Instagram)
Baby Rocky 13 is the first child for Kourtney and her husband Travis Barker (WireImage for Vanity Fair)She also reflected on how it’s been a very different experience so far compared to carrying her other children. “Physically I feel great,” Kourtney told Vanity Fair Italia, adding that she was more worried with her other pregnancies as she was advised by doctors to stop workouts, caffeine, flights and even sex. This time around though, she was more relaxed.
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Kourtney has received backlash for embarking on a pregnancy journey during her mid-forties, which is regarded as 'high risk' for both her and the embryo. But in the same interview with Vanity Fair Italia, she slammed her critics and said her becoming a mum again was part of something bigger than mere mortals can comprehend. Along with a glamorous, partially nude, photoshoot, she said that she believes that it was "God's plan" that she and Travis conceived their first child together naturally, telling naysayers not to "question God's plan".
Kourtney was also very open about the many negative side effects from trying IVF which were confirmed in a brain scan that she had done. She told podcaster Amanda Hirsch: "I went to this really cool thing yesterday where I got a brain scan. It was neuro feedback so there's no radiation for the scan and then they tell you certain things about your brain. And when I went yesterday to get the results it was mostly from - he thought - from IVF because it affects your adrenals, your thyroid, and your hormones."
Kourtney has said it was "God's will" for her to have a child at 44 (Kourtney Kardashian/Instagram)
Travis and Kourtney conceived naturally after giving up on IVF (Instagram/KourtneyKardashian)She added: "My energy levels since starting that have been really down and still. I haven't done it since probably January or February and my energy levels are still really down." She also used her appearance on the show to plug the cleanses she sells on POOSH.
But just because their fertility struggles featured on the family's reality show, it didn't automatically mean that their eventual conception would be a storyline - much to their shock and disappointment. Rather than save it for an end of series of finale, Kourtney announced she was pregnant at a Blink-182 gig, holding a sign reading "Travis I'm Pregnant!", playing homage to a scene from the band's video for All The Small Things.
In scenes aired on The Kardashians, her sister Khloe Kardashian and mum Kris discussed the couple's very public announcement, with Khloe admitting: "My mom found out on the news. She wasn't very happy." Kris then added: "I thought I was being Punk'd."
The couple dressed as Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz for Halloween (kourtneykardash/Instagram)
The couple pictured at the opening of Travis' vegan restaurant, Crossroads, last October (Getty Images for The Commons at Calabasas)In other scenes from the show, it appeared that the POOSH founder was actively hiding her pregnancy from her family. Kourtney can be seen at her niece True's birthday party. Kylie said: "Hi," before hugging her sister. Kourtney was hugging Kylie back when she said: "Love you. I’m like so exhausted I can’t even stand up."
Kylie then sensed that something might be up with her sister, which led her to reply with: "I love you. Are you pregnant?" But Kourtney dodged the question as best as she could and simply smiled and walked away before answering with: “No.”
There was another potential exclusive kept away from the Hulu cameras, too - the baby's name. Travis recently confirmed that they planned to call their son Rocky Thirteen, but eagle-eyed fans had already worked that out from the couple's Disney-themed baby-shower. One tech-savvy fan posted: "Zoomed in on one of the notes on the wish tree at the Barker shower and…..do you think they named the baby Rocky?"
Kourtney and her Kardashian-Jenner family pictured in 2016Another then noted that Kourtney's husband Travis Barker had previously revealed his love of the name posting: "I remember an interview a few months back of Travis saying that he likes the name “Rocky” for the baby." A third agreed: "I remember Travis saying that he really liked the name so that might be why." The interview in question saw Travis discussing baby names with his daughter Alabama for Complex magazine back in July.
Travis and his youngest daughter were discussing several things they believed to be the “Greatest of All Time.” The final card asked for the “GOAT baby name?" Alabama - who Travis shares with his ex Shanna Moakler - jokingly replied reeling off a list of luxury watch brands saying: “Audemars, Milan, f---ing Patek." Travis then responded: "I like Rocky 13."
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Laughing Alabama retorted: "That's so bad!" He then added: "That's this name that's just been going through my head lately," to which Alabama replied "even he knows it's bad." He then agreed: "It is, it is bad."
Kourtney has three children with Scott Disick (Instagram)
Kourtney and her daughter Penelope (Instagram/kourtneykardash)At the start of September, Travis was forced to jet back to the US from Blink 182's European tour when Kourtney had to have "urgent foetal surgery" to save the life of their son. Last month she told Vogue Magazine that the ordeal had "opened my eyes to a whole new world of pregnancy that I didn’t know about in the past. It was terrifying."
She added that she had no idea that insurance "typically only covers two ultrasounds when you’re pregnant." Kourtney then added: "I’ve always been lucky enough to do more than what insurance covers, and it’s one of those ultrasounds that saved my baby’s life."
During the final few weeks of her pregnancy, she confided that she was spending lots of time talking to her baby, telling him that "everything is going to be amazing". She added: "I'm ready to go in, have the baby, and have the experience we’re meant to have."