Kourtney previously said she’d been learning to “embrace the changes” in her body caused by months and months of intensive IVF treatment.
Kourtney Kardashian Barker has had her say on the societal pressures women face to “bounce back” after pregnancy.
Last year, Kourtney welcomed her first child with her husband, Travis Barker. Rocky Thirteen Barker was born on November 1 and is Kourt’s fourth child after Mason, Penelope, and Reign, who she shares with her ex, Scott Disick.
As you may know, Kourtney — who turned 45 in April — went through five failed rounds of IVF before Rocky was conceived naturally. On The Kardashians in 2022, she opened up about how “eight months of IVF treatment” caused changes in her body.
“It was all of the hormones that the doctors put me on,” she explained on the show months before she got pregnant naturally. “Eight months of IVF treatment has definitely taken a toll on my body mentally and physically. I think it’s taken me a lot to get me to the place of feeling really comfortable and happy with the changes.”
“Having a partner who is so supportive of me and always complimenting me, no matter what, it’s just helped me to really embrace the changes and actually to the point where I love the changes now,” she said of Travis. “I’m so into my thicker body.”
And now that baby Rocky is here, Kourtney’s made it clear that she’s not giving in to societal pressures to “bounce back” immediately and start pushing herself to lose weight.
In this week’s episode of The Kardashians, Kris Jenner headed to Kourtney’s house to lend a hand with a fitting she had ahead of her appearance at the Emmys, where Travis performed.
The Emmys took place in January, so this scene was presumably filmed when Kourtney was about two months postpartum. And in her confessional, Kourtney explained that she was a little nervous about being out in public again after giving birth to Rocky.
“I don’t wanna leave,” she said ahead of the red carpet appearance. “I’m starting to get a bit of anxiety about going back into the world.”
In the fitting, Kourtney explained to Kris that she’d requested to try on “some baggy suits” for her Emmys look because she still had “ten pounds” to lose if she wanted “to get back to [her] pre-pregnancy weight.”
Clarifying her feelings, she quickly added: “I care to get back [to my pre-pregnancy weight], but I’m breastfeeding, so I’m taking my time.”
A few moments later, Kourtney returned wearing a waist-snatching corset, prompting Kris to observe: “It’s crazy how the body snaps back.” However, in her confessional, Kourtney emphasized that snapping back is not something she’s focused on.
“My priority is not bouncing back and getting my body back in shape like it has been in the past,” she said before recalling how different her mindset was when she gave birth to her first child, Mason, in 2009.
“I remember after having Mason, it used to be a really big thing to talk about how soon can you bounce back. Everyone would do magazine covers. I did a magazine cover in a bikini and [was] stressing myself out to eat a certain diet,” she said. “This time, I’m really just all about nourishing my body and eating the best foods to keep up my milk supply.”
In the past, Kourtney has reacted to people who’ve commented on her post-baby body on social media. As recently as April, she shut down one Instagram user who suggested that she would disapprove of a photograph her sister Kim posted of her wearing a bikini on her birthday.
Defending her postpartum body, Kourtney replied in the comments section: “I LOVE this photo! It is me and my sisters having the best time on a trip with our kids… and the memories to last forever! And I LOVE this body that gave me my 3 big babies and my little baby boy.”
