A Malaysian company has created full-length trousers for Muslim women to be worn during birth and limit exposing parts of the body.
The baggy trousers, which retail at around £20, look similar to tracksuit bottoms but have an opening between the legs to let the baby out while still covering most of the bottom half of a woman during labour.
Describing the product on their Facebook page, MamaPride states: "Mamapride is a maternity garment to be worn during spontaneous vaginal delivery process.
"The aim of this garment is to protect mother's modesty during delivery by minimising the exposure of a woman's body during delivery."
After the labour trousers received a mixed reaction from online commenters MamaPride has emphasised that the product is intended to be a solution for women who would like to be more covered while giving birth, and not something they expect every pregnant woman to buy.
The company writes on Facebook: "We do not and never force anyone to use our product.
"We are solution provider in the hope that this will tackle the issue of a male doctor attending delivery.
"We always remind our customer to discuss about this garment with the doctors."
One person commented on the photos on Facebook: "Why make things difficult for the muslim women? What kind of pride are you selling? You are just making the delivery process more difficult for the doctor and the mother!"
Another person wrote: "A baby's birth is a Grace of God and it is to be celebrated! It is nothing to be ashamed of. Get the fanatics out of the delivery room there is enough madness already!"
However others have shown interest in the product and on the company's website, they have a "testimonials" section which includes messages from satisfied customers.
Nazia Suhaimi wrote: "I have already used these. They are very comfortable indeed I used them instantly."
Another testimonial said: "The doctor and staff nurse feel happy to follow the procedure and the fabric has patient comfort."
In an open letter the company shared on their Facebook page, they acknowledged the criticism they had received.
The letter said: "We (Mamapride) had been in the news very recently with considerable magnitude of response from netizens. There is a need to set the record straight to ensure that the philosophy behind this innovation is preserved.
"The maternity pant was designed with aim to accommodate modesty for the mother and attending medical staff while at the same time adhere to the highest standard of intrapartum care, allowing necessary monitoring and intervention to the mother and baby."
They add: "There are many faces of extremism and it all share the same origin, ignorance.
"The failure to understand resulted in being misunderstood. Further misunderstanding hinder reconciliation and progress.
"At Mamapride, healthcare professionals gather to generate ideas in order to pave a middle path in this very demanding time.
"They seek engagement with stakeholders from various perspective besides diverse background. The stakes are high but it has always been the struggle that they were willing to shoulder.
"To strike the right chords that resonates harmony across religion, ethical, medical and logistic demands."
Full open letter below:
