Kim Kardashian Explains Why She Hired a Surrogate for Baby No. 3

Just days after welcoming a healthy baby girl, reality star Kim Kardashian took to her blog on Thursday to reveal the real reason why she hired a gestational carrier for her third child.

In a blog post titled, “The Truth About My Pregnancy Decision” available on her exclusive app, Kardashian reveals that after enduring two high-risk pregnancies with her 4-year-old daughter, North, and 2-year-old son, Saint, Kardashian didn’t want to take any chances.

“I have always been really honest about my struggles with pregnancy. Preeclampsia and placenta accreta are high-risk conditions, so when I wanted to have a third baby, doctors said that it wasn’t safe for my — or the baby’s — health to carry on my own,” the 37-year-old wrote.

It was then that she and husband Kanye West decided on a surrogate through an agency, who had no biological connection to the baby.

“After exploring many options, Kanye and I decided to use a gestational carrier,” she continued. “Although I have used the term surrogate in the past, a gestational carrier is actually the technical term for a woman who carries a baby that she has no biological relationship to. A traditional surrogate donates her egg, is artificially inseminated with the father’s sperm and then carries the baby to term. Since we implanted my fertilized egg in our gestational carrier, our baby is biologically mine and Kanye’s.”

While the decision to use a surrogate isn’t for everyone, Kardashian admits she wrestled with the decision.

“Having a gestational carrier is definitely different, but anyone who says or thinks it’s the easy way out is completely wrong,” she writes. “People assume it’s better because you don’t have to deal with the physical changes, pain or complications with delivery, but for me it was so hard to not carry my own child, especially after I carried North and Saint.”

Kardashian has been candid about her high-risk pregnancies on the E! reality show and social media, sharing with the family this past season on Keeping up With the Kardashians her choice to go the surrogate route.

The child, who has yet to be named, was born Monday, Jan. 15, weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Reports are surfacing that Kardashian was the first person to have skin-to-skin contact with her newborn, followed by West.

“I’m so grateful for modern technology and that this is even possible,” the reality star concluded her blog post. “It’s not for everyone, but I absolutely love my gestational carrier and this was the best experience I’ve ever had. Our gestational carrier gave us the greatest gift one could give. The connection with our baby came instantly and it’s as if she was with us the whole time. Having a gestational carrier was so special for us and she made our dreams of expanding our family come true. We are so excited to finally welcome home our baby girl.”