Kourtney Kardashian says pregnancy labelled 'geriatric' is 'so wild' — what to know

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What to know about Kourtney Kardashian Barker's pregnancy

Kourtney Kardashian Barker is making headlines again after getting real about her fourth pregnancy.

The 44-year-old reality star first publicly announced she was pregnant back in June. This will be her first child with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.

In September, she underwent emergency fetal surgery after complications with her pregnancy.

"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," Kardashian Barker captioned an Instagram post. "Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing."

Her pregnancy is again making headlines, as she opened up to Vogue about the pregnancy.

Vogue reported Kardashian Barker now falls into the category of a "geriatric" pregnancy — a word the TV star said was "just so wild."

Though she's already carried three children, it's been nine years since her last pregnancy. But, she said she's ready.

"I've finally been able to let go of the fear and worry that everybody else put in us because of this pregnancy," Kardashian Barker told Vogue.

In a translated interview for Vanity Fair Italia, she revealed she feels "great" physically and had many restrictions in her pregnancy.

"I'm obsessed with the idea of being pregnant!" Kardashian Barker admitted to VF Italia.

"But this time, unlike the other three ... No workouts, no pilates, no caffeine and no plane trips. Even no sex," she said.

"I think all this caution made me a little afraid because, in the past, I never had to be so careful. It took me a while to let go of the fear. Right after the surgery, I reached the point where I let myself go and I stopped worrying."

Why are people talking about it?

Criticism over her pregnancy at age 44 began the moment she announced it.

The soon-to-be mom of four, has flaunted her "gorgeous" belly on Instagram by sharing bikini pics and red carpet looks. While the majority of comments have been positive and congratulatory, many expressed negative attitudes towards her choice to carry another child.

"I actually hope this is her last. It was concerning from the start with her age," one person commented.

"I think it's a bit too old to have kids at 45," another wrote on a different post, while someone added: "When that child turns 10 you're gonna be 55 — that's weird."

Similar comments have been made on X (aka Twitter) too, with one — now deleted — post saying "44 and pregnant? Old eggs are not good for making healthy babies."

However, Kardashian Barker snapped back at the criticism in Vanity Fair Italia last week.

"Those comments don't affect me. To those who make them, I just say: 'How could you question God's plan?' Because that's how I see this pregnancy," Kardashian Barker told the magazine.

"It arrived when both Travis and I no longer even thought about it, and when I had stopped fertility treatment."

Perspectives

Term 'geriatric' is out

Parents reported the term "geriatric" has been "phased out; the term is now advanced maternal age."

"The ability to conceive after age 35 varies significantly from person to person. 'The number one factor is really health,'" Parents quoted doctor Kecia Gaither, an OB-GYN and maternal-fetal medicine specialist at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. "If nothing else is going on with her health, a woman's ability to conceive is the same after 35."

There are risks with later pregnancies

"All pregnancies come with some amount of risk, regardless of your age. But the possibility of complications is higher when you're older," reported Healthline.

"Because you're born with the same eggs that you'll have for your entire life, there is a higher chance of abnormalities during pregnancies that happen later in life. Other health changes associated with aging can also affect your pregnancy. For example, the risk of fibroids and endometriosis increases with age."

It's no one's business

"It seems that too many people in this world, particularly on the internet, feel that they are justified in making judgments on a woman's choice or ability to get pregnant, with age being a factor that causes even more outrage. After all, how dare a woman create and carry a baby after the age of 40?" wrote Charley Ross for Glamour Magazine.

Notion of biological clock is true

"As we get closer to 40, the ticking becomes louder and by 45, it can be deafening. ... Fertility decreases by as much as 95 per cent in women between 40 and 45 years of age," gynecologist Sheryl Ross in Santa Monica, Calif. told Parents.

Women who have kids later live longer

A study found giving birth after the age of 33 doubles a person's chance of living longer. It concluded a "positive association between older maternal age and greater odds of the mother surviving to unusually old age."

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