Kourtney Kardashian froze her eggs in her 30s as a 'safety net'. It still didn't work out.

In a world where celebrities seemingly have it all, there’s one thing that money can’t buy. And that’s the ability to fall pregnant. 

Even with all the advancements in reproductive technologies, at the end of the day, the rich and famous are just like us, and many face the same fertility struggles. 

Kourtney Kardashian Baker has become the latest A-Lister to speak out about her desperate journey to have kids with new husband Travis Barker. 

Watch Kim and Kourtney have a physical fight on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Post continues after video.

The 44-year-old already has three children — Mason 13, Penelope, 10, and Reign, 8 — with her ex Scott Disick, while Travis has Alabama Luella, 17, Landon Asher, 19, and step-daughter Atiana De La Hoya, 24, with his former wife Shanna Moakler.  

But after months of heartbreak, the couple has decided to discontinue their IVF efforts, after many of the seven eggs that Kourtney had frozen years ago — before she even met Travis — failed. 

“When I was 38 or 39 everyone was like pushing me to do that (freeze her eggs),” the LEMME founder said in the season three premiere episode of The Kardashians. “Most of mine didn’t survive the thaw because eggs are one cell, and none of them made it into an embryo.” 

She then went on to deliver some hard truths. 

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“The freezing of the eggs isn’t guaranteed,” Kourtney told the cameras. “And I think that that’s like a misunderstanding.

“People do it thinking that it’s like a safety net and it’s not.”

The reality star also added that the IVF process was difficult on her.  

“My health is still impacted because it’s hormones, and mentally it definitely took a toll,” she said in the clip. 

“I think being happy is what’s important and being a good parent to my kids. We’re just embracing that whatever is meant to be, will be.”

Listen to the hosts of Cancelled discuss Kourtney "Doesn't Work As Hard As Her Sisters" Kardashian. Post continues after podcast.

Egg quality and quantity falls with age.

When it comes to the success of using frozen eggs, a lot depends on the time at which a woman chooses to have her eggs extracted. The younger she is, the healthier the eggs will likely be, and the more there will be of them.

“In any one cycle (of egg extraction), a 30-year-old, on average, will get 10 eggs in one go,” Professor Michael Chapman, a senior fertility specialist at IVF Australia told Mamamia. “If you’re 30 and you’ve got 10 eggs frozen, you’ve got a better than 50/50 chance for pregnancy. 

“At 40, you need 80 eggs to get a 50/50 chance for a baby.”

But by 40, most women will only get five to eight eggs in one cycle, meaning they would need about 10 cycles to have a chance of getting pregnant. 

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Why we need realistic counselling.  

“I think when you counsel a person about freezing their eggs, the most important thing is to counsel them holistically,” Dr Raelia Lew, a gynaecologist and fertility specialist told Mamamia. “And to give them a really good impression so they understand where they're at today, what their options are today to start a family and also what their options are tomorrow and in the years to come.” 

She adds that realistic counselling allows people to proactively plan in a manner that's going to set them up for a better chance of success. 

“It also helps people make an informed decision — and that’s equally important for people who choose to proceed with egg freezing and for those who choose not to — for their psychological well-being to ensure that regardless of their decision, they don't have decisional regret through lack of informed choice.” 

She warns that some clinics may sway towards overly positive information and might not necessarily point out some of the negatives.

“My goal is to provide real information to people thinking about egg freezing about all of the fertility options open to them, and if they choose to freeze their eggs, what's involved in that process in a great deal of detail.” 

Image: E! Network + Mamamia.