Emotions about pregnancy are natural for every woman! Regardless of whether it is an experience for the first time, the experience starts from conception until the moments of the birth of a child. We are not only talking about the beautiful emotions, but also about the possible health risks, fears, insecurities that are experienced during the nine months of sweet waiting.
It seems that for some women, this concern goes beyond ordinary fear, almost to an extreme state! This is otherwise known as tokophobia!
"Tokophobia is an extreme or pathological fear of pregnancy and childbirth," says Aimee Danielson, a clinical psychologist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Fear of childbirth is considered normal for many women, but for some it involves a pronounced fear of pregnancy itself,” she added.
The fear a woman may experience lasts more than six months and can make them feel overwhelmed, which then leads them to extreme efforts to avoid pregnancy or having a child. Tokophobia can severely impair a woman's ability to function in everyday life between work and the social aspect.
Tokophobia is usually classified as primary or secondary tokophobia. The first refers to individuals with a fear of pregnancy and childbirth who have no previous experience of childbirth, while the second refers to those who have developed this fear after going through at least one pregnancy.
What causes tokophobia?
As with other phobias, there is a wide range of causes and risk factors, although most are related to past trauma. Secondary tokophobia usually develops after a traumatic birth, loss of a pregnancy, termination for health reasons, etc. Whereas, in the primary one, hearing about someone else's traumatic experiences can be a contributing factor.
How is it manifested?
Since fears about childbirth are not unusual, a tokophobic's fear can be dismissed and perceived as normal. Unlike healthy fear, tokophobia causes considerable emotional distress to the affected person. The person may want a child, but the fear of childbirth is too great and this is seen as an obstacle to taking a concrete step.
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Source: HuffPost
