This is called tokophobia and it can happen in any pregnancy. Sep 11, 2014 explaining tokophobia, the phobia of pregnancy and childbirth. Tokophobia, the intense anxiety or fear of pregnancy and childbirth, as defined by the work of midwives anna rolandprice and zara chamberlain, may cause some women today to avoid kids altogether. Fear of childbirth and pregnancyrelated anxiety in women conceiving with. I saw that there were no posts about this subject so i thought i would start one. Fear of childbirth foc can have a negative impact on a womans psychological wellbeing during pregnancy and her experience of birth. This paper looks at pregnancy and the relationship with depression, eating disorders, and pathological fear of childbirth or tokophobia. Anxiety, f ear of childbirth, pregnancy, tocophobia. Apparently there is an official name for the substantial fear of pregnancy and childbirthtokophobia. This study aimed to systematically identify the key elements of foc as reported. Jun 24, 2016 the fear of pregnancy is known as tocophobia.
Women who suffer from tocophobia often feel alone in their angst. Some women experience extremely high levels of stress, not only at the thought of giving birth but sometimes linked to the process of discussing their birth options. Home september 2004 volume 47 issue 3 fear of childbirth, tocophobia, and mental health in mothers. When fear of childbirth is extreme montreal gazette.
Oconnell m, oneill sm, dempsey e, khashan as, leahywarren p, smyth rmd, kenny lc. Tocophobia is an intense anxiety or fear of pregnancy and childbirth, with some women avoiding pregnancy and childbirth altogether. If they arent given proper attention and treatment, might start to limit the sufferers life. Feb 27, 2019 tokophobia is a mental issue which causes a woman to fear pregnancy and childbirth so intensely as to avoid undergoing them. Fear of birth is becoming increasingly recognised as a clinical issue that can have profound effects on the mother and her experience of pregnancy and birth. So much so that nhs perinatal mental health services have asked her to look into the problem after a rise in the number of women asking. Tokophobia is where women have an extreme fear of pregnancy that can lead to them avoiding childbirth altogether. When multiparous women admit fear it is often a result of a previous negative andor traumatic birth experience. One in 10 women suffer tocophobia fear of child birth.
Both primary and secondary tokophobia are known primary tokophobia. More needs to be done to help women who have a morbid dread of childbirth. Article as pdf 68 kb article as epub print this article. The dread of childbirth may start in adolescence or early adulthood. It may predate pregnancy and can start in adolescence or begin in pregnancy. Tocophobia is defined as a severe fear of pregnancy and childbirth. There is usually avoidance of anything related to childbirth, such as talking about childbirth, watching programmes about childbirth and pregnancy itself is often avoided. In some cases up to the degree of extreme anxiety and depression. Tocophobia, or fear of childbirth, on the rise abc news. The fear becomes paralysing and terrifying, and can become physically and emotionally disabling scollato and lampasona, 20.
Women who received epidural analgesia more frequently reported fear of childbirth postpartum compared to women who did not receive epidural analgesia aor3. However, when a psychiatric disorder is added to or exacerbated by the pregnancy then the problem requires expert knowledge from more than one area of medicine. As many as 610% of pregnant women have a severe fear of childbirth. Tokophobia is a pathological fear of pregnancy and can lead to avoidance of childbirth. Pdf pregnancy and childbirth are a major life process for women. Hofberg and brockington 2000 showed that some women develop an. And its on the increase, researcher catriona jones from the university of hull warned the british science festival last week. Tocophobia is defined as a severe fear of pregnancy and. When fear of childbirth is extreme the condition is rarely discussed, but more common than you might expect. Swedish researchers explored the phenomenon of anxiety and fear in childless women as well as in those with children. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report. Fear of childbirth is more common than one might think. It was first identified by dr kristina hofberg in 2000 hofberg separates sufferers. Some women have it in early adulthood or even as a teenager.
Foc is associated with predisposing anamnestic factors, various sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics, and may result in serious healthrelated consequences. There is increasing evidence that tocophobia may have short. While it is recognised that ptsd is a separate psychological disorder to fear of birth, ptsd may be a consequence of a previous birth experience ayers, 2007, and it is possible that ptsd may coexist with a fear of subsequent pregnancybirth, resulting also in secondary tocophobia. However the foc construct is itself poorly defined. Establishing a valid construct of fear of childbirth. Interventions for fear of childbirth tocophobia cochrane. It is therefore important to establish which interventions may. Study protocol open access study protocol for reducing. From fear to maternity british journal of midwifery vol. Meet the women with tokophobia, an inexplicable, crippling. Tokophobia is linked to avoidance of pregnancy, termination of pregnancy. These women have more than the usual trepidation associated with pregnancy and often require psychiatric care.
Worldwide prevalence of tocophobia in pregnant women. Whether or not you can be officially diagnosed with this condition is something that i dont believe matters. Fear of childbirth tokophobia pregnancy support elective caesarean section concepts of care abstract background. Support for pregnant women identified with fear of childbirth. After the presentation, i introduced myself and we talked about the research that i have carried out to date. Fear of pregnancy and childbirth postgraduate medical journal. There is increasing evidence that tocophobia may have shortterm and longterm adverse effects on mother and baby. It can be serious enough to lead to panic attacks and acute anxiety. Interventions for fear of childbirth tocophobia oconnell, ma.
While it is recognised that ptsd is a separate psychological disorder to fear of birth, ptsd may be a consequence of a previous birth experience ayers, 2007, and it is possible that ptsd may coexist with a fear of subsequent pregnancy birth, resulting also in secondary tocophobia. In addition, according to the study by zar 2001, it seems that the childbirth expectations of a pregnant woman are related to her previous experiences and to her behaviour during the birth itself. Fear of childbirth is associated with factors that contribute to a sense of uncertainty and insecurity among pregnant women. Evidence suggests that childbirth fear, confidence selfefficacy and a sense of control are closely linked 3. The pain and suffering experienced in childbirth is a primary trigger for the disorder. The british journal of psychiatry first documented this phobia only a decade ago.
Reasons for tocophobia why do women fear pregnancy. There is increasing evidence that tocophobia has serious adverse effects on both mother and baby, which can be long term. A recent study found that one of the biggest influences women reported. Pregnant mothers can be caught off guard by tokophobia. Women who suffer from toco phobia often feel alone. Women with a severe fear of childbirth often have depression or anxiety too. Antenatal fear of childbirth and its association with subsequent caesarean section and experience of childbirth.
Foc is associated with predisposing anamnestic factors, various socio. Tokophobia is the fear of pregnancy or childbirth and the word is derived from greek tokos meaning childbirth and phobos which is intense fear or dread of a situationobject. Fear of childbirth, tocophobia, and mental health in mothers. Fear of childbirth is stronger for women with a higher anxiety level. This is described as secondary fear or tocophobia 16. A severe fear of childbirth may also affect their decision on how to give birth to their baby. Tokophobia is actually an extreme fear of childbirth. It is therefore important to establish which interventions may increase a womans faith in her. Tokophobia is a condition in which a woman has an excessive and unreasonable fear of harm or death as a result of pregnancy and childbirth, which leads to her avoiding or even terminating a pregnancy. Tokophobia as a symptom of prenatal depression is less common. Ronas story can help more stay informed about possible signs and symptoms.
Review fear of pregnancy and childbirth k hofberg, m r ward postgrad med j 2003. Primary tokophobia is morbid fear of childbirth in a woman, who has had no previous experience of pregnancy. Another factor of great importance is negative past experiences, both with. Tocophobia is a severe fear of pregnancy and childbirth. This severe fear of birth is called tokophobia which literally means a phobia of childbirth. Mar 12, 2017 tocophobia is an intense anxiety or fear of pregnancy and childbirth, with some women avoiding pregnancy and childbirth altogether. It also examines the outcome for these women and their babies. Tocophobia is an intense anxiety or fear of pregnancy and childbirth, with some women avoiding pregnancy and child birth altogether3. Fear of childbirth, tocophobia, and mental health in.
From fear to maternity british journal of midwifery. Ask any group of pregnant women their thoughts on labour and. Support for pregnant women identified with fear of. Collaboration on fear of childbirth british journal of. Primary tocophobia occurs when a woman has this fear without having had a baby before. Fear of pregnancy and birth on the rise as more expectant. Childbirth fear and associated factors in a sample of.
Women in this second group may have had a difficult or traumatic delivery. Childbirth experts say that fear of labor is on the rise as women delay pregnancy and hear their friends horror stories. I certainly dont want to live through them, but i dont have a phobia about it. An international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, vol. Fear of pregnancy and childbirth postgraduate medical. There is increasing evidence that tocophobia has serious adverse effects on both mother and baby. Failure to identify women with fear of birth could lead to them feeling isolated and unsupported, and affect their psychological health and the health of their baby. Feb 27, 2019 tokophobia is a condition in which a woman has an excessive and unreasonable fear of harm or death as a result of pregnancy and childbirth, which leads to her avoiding or even terminating a pregnancy. An intense or persistent fear of pregnancy and giving birth can affect the course of a womans life. Tokophobia is linked to avoidance of pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, severe anxiety and requests for caesarean section for nonmedical reasons. Fear of pregnancy and childbirth pubmed central pmc.
For some women, symptoms may be so substantial that they choose instead to terminate a pregnancy rather than go. It has also been associated with adverse obstetric outcomes and postpartum mental health difficulties. Other names for this fear are tocophobia, enfantaphobia, maieusiophobia or parturiphobia. Tocophobia, an extreme fear of childbirth, is surprisingly common and is estimated to affect one in 10 women. And for some women, this also includes a dislike or disgust with pregnancy. This may relate back to their own mothers experience or be triggered by exposure to childbirth without adequate explanation at a young age.
It has been suggested that ptsd is a retrospective phenomenon following birth trauma leeds and hargreaves, 2008. What its like to have a phobia of pregnancy and childbirth. Knowing how to manage thoughts and anxiety will not only help a person live or overcome the fear of pregnancy or childbirth. I had read about these midwives in the literature and was keen to learn more, as my phd is on tocophobia severe fear of childbirth in ireland. Mar 30, 2017 tocophobia is defined as a severe fear of pregnancy and childbirth. Primary tokophobia is the fear and deepseated dread of childbirth in women who have never experienced birth. A montreal reproductive psychiatrist is trying to help sufferers. Explaining tokophobia, the phobia of pregnancy and childbirth. It is common for pregnant women to experience anxiety, worry or fear with varying. A recent study found that one of the biggest influences women reported on their fear of childbirth was hospitalbased reality. Support for pregnant women identified with fear of childbirth foc tokophobia a. Dec 02, 2010 childbirth experts say that fear of labor is on the rise as women delay pregnancy and hear their friends horror stories. In ireland, as in many other countries, perinatal tocophobia is an underexplored condition. Just as some people have phobias about spiders or snakes or airplane flights, women with tocophobia have an overwhelming fear of pregnancy and childbirth, explained dr.
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