So, Kim Kardashian Didn't Actually Use a Surrogate to Have Her Third Baby

When Kim Kardashian announced back in September 2017 that she and Kanye West were having a third child, it was noted that Kim herself wasn't pregnant but was expecting via a surrogate. However, in a post to her website, titled "The Truth About My Pregnancy Decision," the reality star revealed that she in fact had her third child via a gestational carrier.

After experiencing the high-risk conditions placenta accreta and preeclampsia during her first pregnancy with North, Kim expressed anxiety over developing those conditions again during her high-risk pregnancy with Saint. Then, when she decided on expanding her family by having a third, she says her doctors agreed that it wouldn't be safe for her or her baby to carry the child herself.

"After exploring many options, Kanye and I decided to use a gestational carrier," she wrote. "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."

Kim continued, sharing that although the experience wasn't easy for her because it was hard not carrying her own child, she's grateful that modern technology made it possible for her to have this third child at all. "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."

Kim and Kanye welcomed their third child, a baby girl named Chicago, on Jan. 15.