Kim Kardashian's empathy for Britney Spears after watching harrowing doco

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian says she feels empathy for singer Britney Spears after watching the Framing Britney Spears documentary.

Kardashian, 40, shared her thoughts after watching the harrowing doco, which charts Spears' career amid relentless media pursuit and her subsequent mental health breakdown.

She shared a lengthy Instagram post with her millions of followers, opening up about the "traumatising" pressure of being in the public eye.

And the mum of four reflected on her own "insecurities", including a memory of her pregnancy with her first daughter North.

"So I finally watched the Britney Spears documentary this week and it made me feel a lot of empathy for her," Kardashian wrote.

"The way the media played a big role in her life the way it did can be very traumatising and it can really break even the strongest person.

She added: "No matter how public someone's life may seem, no one deserves to be treated with such cruelty or judgement for entertainment.

"Looking back at my own experiences, I remember a time when I felt this way."

And the mum revealed that during her pregnancy with her oldest daughter North she suffered from pre eclampsia, "which made me swell up uncontrollably".

Kim said she could relate to Britney's struggles with the media. Photo / Getty Images

"I gained 60 pounds and delivered almost six weeks early and I cried every single day over what was happening to my body mainly from the pressures of being constantly compared to what society considered a healthy pregnant person should look like - as well as being compared to Shamu the Whale by the media."

She felt "broken" after giving birth and struggled to leave her house as photos of herself online and in magazines made her feel "so insecure" and wonder if she would "ever get my pre baby body back".

The reality star said she's overcome these insecurities, channelling them into furthering her career instead.

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"But to say this didn't take a toll on me mentally would be a lie."

"I'm sharing this just to say I really hope everyone involved in the business of shaming and bullying someone to the point of breaking them down might reconsider and instead try to show some understanding and compassion," she went on.

"You just never fully know what someone is going through behind the scenes and I've learned through my own experiences that it's always better to lead with kindness."