Kim Kardashian is facing criticism after announcing her shapewear brand Skims is expanding to include a maternity line.

On Saturday, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star shared a photo of pregnant models wearing various styles of her new maternity “solutionwear” on Instagram, explaining that the line will be released in nine colours on 16 September.

“What you’ve been waiting for: @Skims Maternity is coming soon!” the 39-year-old captioned the photo. “Introducing Maternity Solutionwear that offers the best in comfort and support for your changing body during and after pregnancy.”

On her Instagram Stories, the KKW Beauty founder also gave her followers a look at the new maternity shapewear styles, which include a maternity “sculpting” bra that has a clasp that can be undone to breastfeed and a mid-thigh bodysuit described as having a “non-compressive core that allows for growing baby bump” and “lifts bust, smooths and shapes thighs and butt.”

“If only there were cute bras 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,” Kardashian says in one clip while showing off the maternity bra.

“I never wore a maternity bra because there was nothing out there so this was really important to me to be able to make one that was so comfortable but also made you feel really good about yourself and made you look good.”

The reality star then went on to show her more than 188m Instagram followers the line’s high-waisted brief, which she said “still has butt-shaping” but also now has “belly thinness” fabric “so it’s not compressing 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,” she added.

On social media, the reveal of the new maternity line was met with mixed reactions, with some people accusing Kardashian of implying that pregnant women need to be concerned about the appearance of their bodies.

“Why the f*** do pregnant people need Skims? That’s so stupid,” one person tweeted. “Just let people enjoy their pregnancy without thinking they need to maintain the perfect figure.”

Another person said: “Why would you put shapewear on your pregnant belly?”

“Excuse my ignorance but who’s tryna shape their pregnant bodies? Y’all don’t like being comfy and free and loose when pregnant? It’s pretty much the only time you can be as shapeless and free and comfy as you want!” someone else tweeted.

Despite the criticism, many of Kardashian’s fans expressed their support for the new maternity shapewear.

“Yay!!! There’s not a ton of options for maternity shapewear right now, I’m excited to try this!!” one person tweeted.

Another person wrote: “I’m SO excited for the @skims Maternity Collection! My bras no longer fit and I’ve been on the hunt for something supportive, yet functional for when the baby comes.”

This is not the first time Kardashian has sparked controversy with her shapewear line. In 2019, the reality star renamed the brand Skims after its original name was condemned for being “culturally insensitive”.