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Why Did Kourtney Kardashian Have Fetal Surgery With Rocky? Inside His ‘Super Rare’ Lung Condition
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker welcomed a healthy baby boy named Rocky 13 Barker in late 2023. However, the couple experienced a frightening moment of uncertainty a few weeks before Rocky’s birth when the Kardashians star underwent emergency fetal surgery to save their son’s life. Kourtney shared insight into why she and Rocky needed the surgery during a June 2024 episode of The Kardashians season 5.
Kourtney Kardashian Underwent Emergency Fetal Surgery to Save Rocky’s Life
The Poosh founder was suddenly hospitalized in Los Angeles on September 1, 2023, which led many fans to wonder if she had given birth. However, she revealed a few days later that she was rushed into surgery.
“I will be forever grateful to my incredible doctors for saving our baby’s life,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a black and white snap of Travis’ hand holding hers. “I am eternally grateful to my husband, who rushed to my side from [Blink-182’s European tour] to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards, my rock. And to my mom, thank you for holding my hand through this.”
Kourtney, who also shares kids Mason, Penelope and Reign with ex Scott Disick, continued, “As someone who has had three really easy pregnancies in the past, I wasn’t prepared for the fear of rushing into urgent fetal surgery. I don’t think anyone who hasn’t been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant.”
“Praise be to God,” she concluded. “Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing.”
Why Did Kourtney Kardashian Need Fetal Surgery With Rocky?
Though Kourtney did not go into detail about why she needed the fetal surgery at the time, she opened up about Rocky’s lung condition during the June 20, 2024, episode of The Kardashians.
“A couple months ago, we had a terrifying scare,” she said while preparing to give birth. In a scene from her recovery after the surgery, Kourtney said, “Baby Rocky had to have fetal surgery for fluid in his lung. And it’s super rare, that this [is] the condition that he had but it’s also super rare and lucky that we caught it. And thank you, God, for this successful surgery. I’m honestly just so grateful, I have no words.”
Though the operation went well, Kourtney admitted that Rocky’s symptoms later came back, which “filled” her with “fear.”
“And then I watched this documentary called Heal that was all about the power of positive thinking and how our thinking can really affect our health,” she explained. “And then I started talking to the baby every day, saying my prayers, and after I had that mindset shift, the fluid was completely gone and we had not one single problem after.”
Kourtney was left with a small scar on her stomach after the surgery, which she revealed during the June 6, 2024, episode of The Kardashians. “I have a scar from my surgery where they went into my amniotic sac,” she said during a photo shoot at the end of her pregnancy. “So I’m like a fragile little egg.”
When Did Kourtney Kardashian Give Birth?
Baby Rocky was born on November 1, 2023, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to the birth certificate obtained by The Blast later that month.
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