Angie Kent hits back at critics who called her decision to raise child alone 'incredibly alarming' and 'selfish' after she announced IVF pregnancy

Angie Kent has lashed out after being attacked by online critics for her decision to conceive and raise her baby alone. 

The former Bachelorette star, 36, announced this week that she is expecting her first child via IVF and will be a single mother by choice. 

The news was met with congratulations from most, but scorn from some. 

Kent shared one example of a message from her detractors, which slammed her decision to raise her child alone as 'incredibly alarming' and 'incredibly selfish'. 

The former reality star was forced to defend herself against accusations that she had set herself and her child up for a 'difficult and isolating' life. 

'At what point did I ever say it wasn't going to be difficult? Motherhood is one of the toughest roles out there,' she wrote on Instagram.

'Do not underestimate a woman who has been through IVF and surgery after surgery,' she continued. 

Kent said she has 'planned, sacrificed and fought tooth and nail just to get to this moment.'

She added: 'So let's chill out a bit on the "alarming" and "terribly sad". We've heard it all. Focus that energy somewhere else cause it ain't required up in here.'

Kent continued to defend her stance in a slideshow, which she shared on Instagram on Saturday. 

'Calling a woman selfish for choosing motherhood on her own terms is rooted in patriarchal conditioning and internal misogyny,' she wrote.  

Kent slammed 'the myth that a family is incomplete without a man'. 

'Children don't need one specific family blueprint. Decades of psychological research show that children raised by solo mothers by choice thrive just as much as children in two-parent households,' she said. 

Kent continued: 'The shame reaches far beyond one woman. Messages like this disrespect women who choose this path and shame single mothers who raise incredible children on their own, by choice or circumstance. 

'Women do not need permission or a partner to build a life and family.'  

Just days ago, Kent revealed she is four weeks pregnant after an embryo transfer, sharing the news with a childhood photograph of herself and her late father.

In an Instagram post, she announced that a blood test had confirmed her pregnancy, after she documented her egg retrieval and the creation of embryos on Big Miracles. 

'Results are in. I am four weeks pregnant,' she wrote.

'Today my bloods confirmed what my heart already hoped for.'

The reality star thanked the people who had checked in and sent prayers while she waited to find out whether the transfer had worked.

Having shared each stage of her fertility journey with her followers, Angie said she intends to be open about the highs and lows as her pregnancy progresses.