Kourtney Kardashian just got candid about the realities of IVF treatment

Kourtney Kardashian has opened up about her IVF journey on the newly-aired season three premiere of The Kardashians, after undergoing the process with her husband Travis Barker.

The 44-year-old reality TV star and entrepreneur has declared that her and the Blink 182 drummer, 47, are “officially done with IVF” after receiving the disappointing news that the fertility treatment had not lead to a pregnancy for the couple.

“We would love a baby more than anything, but I just really believe in what God has in store for us. If that’s a baby, then I believe that it will happen,” she announced on the show.

The couple’s IVF treatment followed an egg freezing procedure which Kourtney revealed she had undergone prior to beginning her relationship with Travis in late 2020. While the process had retrieved seven eggs, most “didn’t survive the thaw” and “none of them made it to an embryo.” She added: “The freezing of the eggs isn’t guaranteed. I think that that’s a misunderstanding. People do it thinking that it’s like a safety net and it’s not.”

Going forward, the couple have resolved to continue trying naturally, rather than undergo further fertility procedures. “I would love a baby more than anything but I just really believe in what God has in store for us. If that’s a baby, then I believe that it will happen,” the Poosh founder clarified.

Later in the episode, viewers were given a cheeky insight into the pair’s efforts towards natural conception. “I know that I’m already late for you, but I am ovulating,” Kourtney Kardashian told her sister Khloe, as she arrived for a meeting with her, Travis in tow. “If you give us five minutes to go do something really fast…we’ll be back.” Kourtney and Travis then went to another room to have sex before Kourney reemerged.

Kourtney was 39 when she underwent the egg-freezing procedure. According to HCA Healthcare, a leading UK private healthcare provider, one in 21 eggs frozen between the ages of 35 to 40 achieved a live birth or ongoing pregnancy, while this falls to one in 35 for eggs frozen over the age of 40.

The NHS website provides further data on chances of success for IVF treatments, stating that the percentage of IVF treatments resulting in a live birth is 5% for women aged 43 to 44, when using the women’s own eggs together with their partner’s sperm. However, this figure doesn’t take into account eggs that have been frozen at a younger age. For women aged 38 to 39, the percentage of IVF treatments that are successful is 19%.

Kourtney and Travis both have children from previous relationships. Kourtney co-parents Mason, 13; Penelope, 10; and Reign; 8, with her ex Scott Disick, while Travis shares daughter Alabama, 17; son Landon, 19, and stepdaughter Atiana De La Hoya; 24, with her ex-wife Shana Moakler.