In plain words
Tokophobia is an intense, lasting fear of pregnancy or childbirth. Many people feel nervous about birth, and that is normal. Tokophobia is different because the fear is strong enough to affect sleep, decisions, or whether someone wants to have a baby at all. Some people avoid prenatal care, or ask for a mainly to avoid labor. Others feel panic when they think about birth. It can exist before a first pregnancy or follow a . Care teams can offer specific support, and talk therapies are one option. Providers, midwives, and perinatal therapists work with this fear. It is not a failure of courage.
The deeper version
A specific fear of childbirth, distinguished as primary tokophobia (often before any pregnancy) and secondary tokophobia (after a previous traumatic birth). It overlaps with generalized anxiety, panic, and symptoms, and cohort studies link it to elective cesarean requests and depressive symptoms. Screening uses a single item or the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire. Treatment includes cognitive behavioral approaches adapted for birth fear. Prevalence estimates vary with definition, and much of the evidence is cross-sectional.
Where it comes up
- Anxiety in pregnancyPregnancy: Mind and Life
- Childbirth classes: which kind, whenGetting Ready for Birth
- Postpartum anxietyPostpartum: Mind
- Inner preparation: ritual, rest, and meaningPregnancy: Mind and Life
What mothers here say about tokophobia
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- Wijma K, Wijma B, Zar M — Psychometric aspects of the W-DEQ, a new questionnaire for the measurement of fear of childbirth, Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology 1998
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence — Antenatal and postnatal mental health, CG192, 2014