Kim Kardashian hits back criticism she's trying to make pregnant women look slimmer

Kim Kardashian has passionately defended her maternity shapewear range after facing a backlash following its release.

The 39-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star had been accused of trying to help pregnant women look slimmer with the launch of her new line for Skims.

Critics had said that the maternity wear was actually making women feel pressured into not being comfortable with their pregnant body and that it is sending the wrong message for mum-to-be.

The reality star has hit back at the critics in a series of a tweets on Sunday, in which she said that the maternity line had been misinterpreted and was in fact designed for support rather than to shape your body.

Kim started by writing: "To anyone who has an issue with maternity solutionwear, and if you haven’t been pregnant before you may not know the struggle of what it’s like carrying all of this weight the way I did along with millions of strong women, @skims maternity line is not to slim but to support.

"The belly part doesn’t slim your belly, it’s actually sheer and a thinner layered material compared to the rest of the garment."

"Kim went on to detail what the maternity wear was designed to do: "It provides support to help with the uncomfortable weight being carried in your stomach which affects your lower back and the compression on the leggings helps with pain relief caused by swelling.

"It is also worn after you have given birth and provides the comfort and support that most women need after delivery especially if you are recovering from a cesarean."

Kim continued to say that the line was launched due to demand from consumers.

She continued: "We launched this category in response to the tens of thousands of pregnant women who wrote us requesting it and because it was something I personally needed when I was pregnant myself.

"Based on the majority of positive feedback we have received so far from pregnant women around the world, I am incredibly proud to provide a solution that will provide comfort and support during the times that we all need it most, during pregnancy and after."

The KUWTK star said the line would be available on the September 16 - and would come in nine different colours.

Her Skims Instagram account features models caressing their baby bumps, but Kim has insisted the designs do not squash the tummy.

Kim said Skims have "Butt-shaping designs and they do not compress on your stomach which is really important because you obviously don’t want to do that.

"But you want to shape everything else around it.

"If only there were cute bras like this that were holding you up and snatching you and making you feel better about yourself while you can breastfeed - that would have been everything to me."

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