Kourtney Kardashian reflects on 'terrifying' emergency fetal surgery: 'That was a trauma'
Kourtney Kardashian is reflecting on the traumatic experience of undergoing emergency surgery to save her baby's life.
During the Season 5 premiere of "The Kardashians," Kardashian, 45, shared new details about being hospitalized last year to urgently undergo fetal surgery while expecting a child with husband Travis Barker.
"I had to go in for fetal surgery, where they do surgery on the baby, which was terrifying," she said.
At the time of filming, Kardashian was about 31 weeks pregnant and on bedrest, with doctors telling her not to stand for more than 20 minutes because she had "a hole in the amniotic sac from where they had to go into the surgery." "I'm really not leaving the house, in other words," she told viewers, though she said she felt "great."
Kardashian explained that the situation began after she received a scan at home and something on it caught her doctor's eye. The surgery had to be done "right away," but Barker was on tour with Blink-182, so her mom, Kris Jenner, took her to the procedure as he was rushing back. Kardashian remembered how "awful" it was when the WiFi went down on Barker's plane, meaning he couldn't get any updates on how things were going. The surgery was finished by the time he arrived.
"Travis, as soon as he landed, came straight to the hospital and then took over and slept at the hospital with me," Kardashian recalled.
According to Kardashian, the timing of the surgery was "miraculous," allowing doctors to save the baby. She opened up about how scary the situation was, noting that her doctor told her, "That was a trauma, and I want you guys to be able to take a second and know that that was really traumatic." But she said she got through it thanks to her "superpower" of remaining "really calm" in emergency situations.
"Right when we left, I was like, 'OK, I can take a deep breath, I can cry, I can get it out," she added.
In November, Kardashian and Barker welcomed their first child together, a son named Rocky Thirteen Barker.
Kourtney Kardashian reveals she underwent 'urgent fetal surgery' to save baby's life
She revealed that she had received the "urgent fetal surgery" last September, writing on Instagram at the time, "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."
Kourtney Kardashian, Travis Barker welcome a baby boy, their first child together
She also said she was "eternally grateful to my husband who rushed to my side from tour to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards, my rock."
On the show, Kardashian said that fans thanked her for sharing her story in this Instagram post, as "so many people don't feel comfortable even telling their friends or their family members" about needing to undergo fetal surgery "because they're like, 'Did they do something wrong?'"
"My doctor's like, there's nothing that you did wrong," she noted. "It's not age related. It's just a super rare thing that happened. But after this happened, I was like, 'God's got this. We're good. This is a miracle, and we're just going to be super positive."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Kardashians' premiere: Kourtney Kardashian details fetal surgery
