Tokophobia is a significant fear of childbirth.
It is a common reason why some women request an elective cesarean section.
The fear often includes fear of injury to the baby, genital tract, or death.
Treatment may occur via counselling.
It is a type of specific phobia.
What is the fear of childbirth known as?
tokophobia
What is a Tokophobia?
Tokophobia is a pathological fear of pregnancy and can lead to avoidance of childbirth. It can be classified as primary or secondary. Primary is morbid fear of childbirth in a woman, who has no previous experience of pregnancy.
What causes Tokophobia?
Primary tokophobia occurs before a woman ever becomes pregnant. The stimulus may be early sexual trauma, rape, early exposure to the facts of vaginal birth as occurs in sex education classes at school, or even watching videos of childbirth when very young.
How common is Tokophobia?
It is difficult to say how common tokophobia is. Research suggests that between 2.5 per cent and 14 per cent of women are affected by tokophobia. But some researchers believe this figure could be as high as 22 per cent.
Will I die during childbirth?
The Fear: Dying in Labor
It doesn’t happen very often here in the US. It’s because of serious childbirth complications like infection, hemorrhage, or high blood pressure. If you’re getting good prenatal care, the odds you’ll die during labor are extremely small.
Is it normal to fear childbirth?
Tokophobia. It is rare, but some women are so afraid of giving birth that they don’t want to go through with it, even if they really want to have the baby. A severe fear of childbirth may also affect their decision on how to give birth to their baby. This is called Tokophobia and it can happen in any pregnancy.
Is giving birth painful?
Pain During Labor and Delivery
This pain can be felt as strong cramping in the abdomen, groin, and back, as well as an achy feeling. Some women experience pain in their sides or thighs as well. Pain during labor is different for every woman. It varies widely from woman to woman and even from pregnancy to pregnancy.
What causes a baby to be stillborn?
The Most Common Known Causes of Stillbirths Include:
Placental Problems: Women with placental abruption, or a pregnancy-related form of high blood pressure called preeclampsia or pregnancy induced hypertension, have twice the risk of abruption or stillbirth as unaffected women.
When can you drink during pregnancy?
There’s no safe time to drink alcohol during pregnancy. Alcohol can cause problems for your baby any time during pregnancy, even before you know that you’re pregnant. You may be pregnant and not know for 4 to 6 weeks.
What is the fear of throwing up?
Emetophobia is a phobia that causes overwhelming, intense anxiety pertaining to vomiting. This specific phobia can also include subcategories of what causes the anxiety, including a fear of vomiting in public, a fear of seeing vomit, a fear of watching the action of vomiting or fear of being nauseated.
Why are people afraid of needles?
Trypanophobia is an extreme fear of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles. Children are especially afraid of needles because they’re unused to the sensation of their skin being pricked by something sharp. By the time most people reach adulthood, they can tolerate needles much more easily.
What can you do for panic attacks while pregnant?
If you experience one, the following techniques may help you cope:
- Breathe deeply. Slow, deep breaths can help to reduce your symptoms of panic and anxiety.
- Think about something else, if you can. It may be difficult, but try to focus all your attention on one thing.
- Try visualisation.
- Don’t fight it.
How likely is it to die during childbirth?
During and after pregnancy: Heart disease and stroke cause more than 1 in 3 pregnancy-related deaths. During birth: Emergencies, like heavy bleeding and amniotic fluid embolism, cause the most deaths during birth.
What happens if you pass out while giving birth?
Fainting, technically known as syncope, is a temporary loss of consciousness, usually caused by low blood pressure and a lack of oxygen in the brain. Pregnancy hormones can cause the heart rate and blood supply to increase, while blood vessels relax, all of which can lead to dizziness and fainting.
How do mothers die during childbirth?
According to the latest UN global estimates, 303,000 women a year die in childbirth, or as a result of complications arising from pregnancy. Severe bleeding and infections after childbirth are the biggest killers, but high blood pressure, obstructed labour and unsafe abortions all contribute.
Photo in the article by “Wikipedia” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_(mythology)