Sources close to Kim Kardashian recently revealed that she’s expecting a third child via surrogate. According to People, Kardashian and her husband, Kanye West, decided to use a surrogate for this pregnancy after she suffered complications during her two previous ones. However, the reality star has made it clear that she never confirmed anything. “When we’re ready to talk about it we will,” she recently told E! News.
Now, Kardashian revealed a bit more about that decision to Allure in her recent cover interview with the magazine. When asked if she’s thought about having a third child, Kardashian replied, “I would like to, but I’ve had lots and lots of complications. I had preeclampsia. And then I also had something called placenta accreta. We’ve explored surrogacy. We’re thinking about it.”
And that was that. Kardashian’s pregnancy complications aren’t a secret—she openly discussed them in the past on Keeping Up with the Kardashians—but here's what you need to know about them.
Preeclampsia causes high blood pressure and signs of damage to organs such as the liver and kidneys, according to the Mayo Clinic. The danger with preeclampsia is that it can progress to eclampsia if it’s left untreated—and that can cause seizures, stroke, heart attack, bleeding in the brain, and even death to the mom or baby, Michael Cackovic, M.D., a maternal-fetal medicine physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF. That said, preeclampsia is fairly common in women late in their pregnancies, affecting between 5 and 7 percent of pregnant women, per the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Luckily, preeclampsia is often diagnosed early (via a urine test and blood pressure reading) and is generally treatable with blood pressure medication, Jessica Shepherd, M.D., an assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology and director of minimally invasive gynecology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, tells SELF. “When it’s not treated, that’s when women have issues,” she says. “Once we know someone has preeclampsia, we’re usually very on top of it.”
Placenta accreta happens when the blood vessels and other parts of the placenta (which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the baby) grows too deeply into a woman’s uterine wall, the Mayo Clinic says. The placenta usually detaches from a woman’s uterine wall after she gives birth. But with placenta accreta, a part (or all) of a woman’s placenta stays attached, Dr. Cackovic explains. This can cause a woman to have extreme blood loss after she gives birth and can even result in a hysterectomy to save the mother’s life, Christine Greves, M.D., a board-certified ob/gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, tells SELF. “Sometimes we have to do cesarean hysterectomies,” she says. “It’s not ideal but you do want the woman to live.”
Placenta accreta is becoming increasingly common as more women have C-section births, Dr. Greves says. That's because the operation often leaves scarring, which the placenta can attach to, creating placenta accreta. But it's possible that the condition can be detected in advance with ultrasound, she says.
Women can have preeclampsia and go on to have subsequent healthy pregnancies. “It shouldn’t discourage someone from having another pregnancy but should encourage them to get proper care,” Dr. Shepherd says. There are a few risk factors for developing preeclampsia (including a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity), so getting care for those conditions in advance can lower the odds someone will have preeclampsia again, she says. However, Dr. Cackovic says, genetics may also play a role in the condition, and, clearly, you can’t do a thing about that.
Having preeclampsia in the past does put you at a greater risk of having it again, Dr. Greves says. But a low-dose aspirin (81 milligrams) may help lower that risk, she says. Just be sure to check in with your doctor before taking any kind of new medication during pregnancy.
If a woman’s uterus had to be removed due to placenta accreta, she won’t be able to carry another pregnancy, Dr. Cackovic points out. (However, that doesn’t seem to be the case with Kardashian, who mulled over carrying a third pregnancy during KUWTK).
If you had placenta accreta in the past and didn’t have a hysterectomy, talk to your doctor about your risks going forward. Having the condition in the past does put you at an increased risk of having it again (especially if you had a C-section). And you could be putting yourself at risk of needing a hysterectomy after your next pregnancy if you have placenta accreta again, Dr. Shepherd says.
Ultimately, whether you had preeclampsia, placenta accreta, or another pregnancy-related health condition, check in with your doctor about the best way to move forward—especially if you want to carry another pregnancy.
Related:
- Kim Kardashian Reveals She Can't Carry Any More Children
- Kim Kardashian's Surrogacy Process Could Be Complex and Expensive
- 7 Health Issues Pregnant Women Need to Watch Out For
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