Kourtney Kardashian Barker is finally getting her energy back 10 months after completing a round of IVF (in vitro fertilization) and she wants others to know “it gets better.”
The 43-year-old shared the sentiment in an Instagram story on Thursday, Dec. 8, along with a photo of her treadmill dashboard. “Finally started getting my energy back 10 months after stopping IVF,” she wrote.
In the last year, Kardashian and her husband, Travis Barker, have been very open about their experience with IVF and their hopes to have a child together. “I do love being a mom,” Kardashian said in a March 2022 episode of “The Kardashians” (streaming on Hulu). “I think having that experience with Travis would just be incredible. I know he’s a really, really amazing father. It’s one of the reasons that I fell in love with him.” Kardashian is already a mom to three kids while Barker is a dad to two of his own.
However, Kardashian also acknowledges that it hasn’t “been the most amazing experience” and in October decided to take a break from trying to have a baby with Barker. “I know that it’s helped, you know, so many people, but it’s just not for me,” she said about IVF on an episode of Dear Media‘s “Not Skinny but Not Fat” podcast. “It really took a toll on my health and my – just even mentally – the hormones, the medication, you have to get put to sleep every time.”
Fatigue during IVF treatment is quite common because of the drastic changes in hormone levels – specifically, increased levels of progesterone, according to Pacific Fertility Center Los Angeles. This mimics the natural process that happens when someone gets pregnant. The body produces the extra hormone to create and sustain a healthy embryo lining. Fatigue can also be further exacerbated by the stress and anxiety that can accompany the infertility issues that may have driven a person to pursue IVF, the Center adds.
It didn’t help that the entrepreneur has also been under constant scrutiny from the public throughout her fertility journey. In a conversation with her mom during the same “Kardashians” episode, Kardashian said: “Every single person on social media is always like, ‘Kourtney’s pregnant, Kourtney’s pregnant, Kourtney’s gained so much weight.’ I’m like, it’s so rude to comment on people when you have no idea what they’re actually going through.” This preoccupation with stars’ bodies and pregnancy journeys is something many female celebrities – including Jennifer Aniston and Amy Schumer – are, unfortunately, very familiar with.
Regardless, the couple has made it clear they want to be purposeful in their transparency around the experience. In an interview last month with GQ, Barker said, “It’s real life. And if any of that can help people – seeing Kourtney’s journey through IVF, which is super hard for a woman. You saw her struggle with it and talk about it. That’s real.”
