Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian shared new details about the “terrifying” fetal surgery that happened before son Rocky’s birth.
“I was touring, I was actually in Europe,” Barker, 50, recalled in his Hulu documentary Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear, which is streaming now. “[Kourtney] says, ‘Trav, I went to my doctor and the baby’s lungs are filling with fluid.'”
Barker was told that the treatment required surgery where doctors “drained the fluid from his lungs by placing a needle through her stomach.”
“It was terrifying going in for the surgery,” Kardashian, 47, said in the doc. “He canceled four shows, and he just came and laid with me in the hospital and made sure that everything was OK.”
Barker admitted he was concerned for both his wife and their son, adding, “Once you’ve experienced a miscarriage, you’re just waiting for something awful to happen.”
After candidly discussing their journey to become parents in the past, Kardashian announced in June 2023 that she was expecting a baby with Barker by holding up a handwritten sign at a Blink-182 concert that read, “Travis, I’m pregnant.”
Three months later, Kardashian revealed she was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery ahead of her fourth child’s arrival. (The reality star also shares kids Mason, 16, Penelope, 13, and Reign, 11, with ex Scott Disick.)
“I will be forever grateful to my incredible doctors for saving our baby’s life. I am eternally grateful to my husband who rushed to my side from tour to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards, my rock,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “And to my mom, thank you for holding my hand through this. 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.”
The Poosh founder continued: “I don’t think anyone who hasn’t been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant. Praise be to God. Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing.”
Kardashian later discussed the health scare in detail, telling Vogue in October 2023, “That experience opened my eyes to a whole new world of pregnancy that I didn’t know about in the past. After, I learned that insurance typically only covers two ultrasounds when you’re pregnant, I had no idea. I’ve always been lucky enough to do more than what insurance covers, and it’s one of those ultrasounds that saved my baby’s life.”
At the time, Kardashian made it clear that she was focused on remaining stress-free. “I’ve finally been able to let go of the fear and worry that everybody else put in us because of this pregnancy. I’m ready to go in, have the baby, and have the experience we’re meant to have,” she added.
Kardashian and Barker welcomed their son, Rocky, one month later. While being asked about the pregnancy for his new documentary, the couple revealed they previously went through a miscarriage.
“When we lost the baby, we were devastated,” Kardashian said in the documentary about how she found out she was pregnant six months into dating Barker in 2022. “We cried for days. All we wanted was to have a baby together.”
