![]() Some of the consequences for women with tokophobia – which emerge during labour – are longer labours. Mothers with tokophobia can struggle to bond with their babies. Anxiety, insomnia, sleeplessness, eating disorders and antenatal depression or increased risk of postnatal depression, have all been identified as consequences of tokophobia. Some women find pregnancy itself very difficult, particularly dealing with the growing bump and feeling the baby’s movements. When pregnant, women with tokophobia may request a caesarean section to avoid the process of actually having to give birth. Research suggests some women with the condition choose to avoid pregnancy altogether – or may consider a termination if they find themselves in that position. It is difficult to predict who might be affected, although it is clear that women with tokophobia are also more likely to experience difficulties with anxiety and depression and other mental health problems. Women with tokophobia come from a wide variety of backgrounds. The figures may also include women who have anxiety and depression rather than tokophobia. So while some women may have relatively mild tokophobia, for others, the condition is much more severe. These figures vary so much because women with different levels of tokophobia were included in the research. But some researchers believe this figure could be as high as 22%. Research suggests that between 2.5% and 14% of women are affected by tokophobia. It is difficult to say how common tokophobia is. Whereas women who suffer from secondary tokophobia, tend to have had a previous traumatic birth experience which has left them with a fear of giving birth again. ![]() It can also be linked to witnessing a difficult birth or listening to stories or watching programmes which portray birth as embarrassing or dangerous. For these women, a fear of birth tends to come from traumatic experiences in their past – including sexual abuse. Primary tokophobia occurs in women who have not given birth before. Tokophobia can be split into two types – primary and secondary. And for some women, this also includes a dislike or disgust with pregnancy. This severe fear of birth is called tokophobia – which literally means a phobia of childbirth. But for some women, the fear of labour and birth can be so overwhelming that it overshadows their pregnancy and affects daily functioning. Worries about the pain of contractions, interventions and the uncertainty of the process are not unusual. It’s very common for women to feel anxious about labour and birth.
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