hey John!

thanks for that it was really interesting, but mine is more a fear of something growing inside me. Like a tapeworm pregnancy to me is the idea of having a parasite inside me. Bacteria and etc that naturally live in the human body dont bother me, but having something else an almost sentient life form growing and developing in my stomach which 9 months later sheds my body like an old tshirt. I'm not sure about the idea of vaginal birth, i can understand how other women would want to go through the horrific ordeal just to have this living parasite leeching off them physically emotionally and finantually, possibly for the rest of their lives, but the idea fills me with dread. The fear hasnt bled over into my sexual life fortunatly as i've always used some form of contraception or other. luckily i havent gotten pregnant by accident as of yet, and i know that some people are against it, however should this situation occur due to said phobia and other issues abortion would be the only option for me, but as for now i'm just plain careful. I actually use a contraception that has minimal human error as getting pregnant would just be a big nightmare for me.

wow that was a rant. I dont get panic attacks over it its not that severe just fills me with dread. I havent had any pregnancy dreams for a while now, but when i did i'd always wake up in cold sweat Ugh! just makes me feel sick i guess. Fortunatly my current boyfriend has little to no desire for children in his future, he says he's not bothered either way, and my family know and so does his, but if anyone starts pestering me for grandchildren they may get a punch in the face, but i'm only 21 so that shouldnt happen for a few more years yet. I plan to have a long and nappy free life.

Thanks =)
Cathy.

On 6/29/07, john brace <jonnyjonny_uk@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi Cathy,

 

There are a few names for the fear of childbirth- Maleusiophobia, Tocophobia, Parturiphobia, or Lockiophobia.

 

Here is a brief description about the phobia:-

 

Tokophobia, or fear of childbirth, is a form of specific phobia. Other terms for the condition include tocophobia and parturiphobia.

 Psychological disorder

In 2000, an article published in the British Journal of Psychiatry (2000, 176: 83-85) described the fear of childbirth as a psychological disorder, when it had previously received little to no attention as such, in addition to introducing the term tokophobia (from the Greek tokos, meaning childbirth and phobos, meaning fear).

Phobia of childbirth, as with any phobia, can manifest through a number of symptoms including nightmares, difficulty in concentrating on work or on family activities, panic attacks and psychosomatic complaints. Often the fear of childbirth motivates a request for an elective caesarean section. Fear of labor pain is strongly associated with the fear of pain in general; a previous complicated childbirth, or inadequate pain relief, may cause the phobia to develop.

Debate currently rages within the obstetric and psychiatric communities regarding the woman's right to choose mode of delivery -- be it the right of a women to request a caesarean section, or emphasis on the methods available to help them attempt to overcome their fear of vaginal childbirth. Preliminary Swedish and Finnish reports demonstrated the results of treatment during pregnancy, when more than half of the women withdrew their request after being able to discuss their anxiety and fear and vaginal deliveries after treatment were successful.[citation needed]

Tokophobia is a distressing psychological disorder which may be overlooked by medical professionals; as well as specific phobia and anxiety disorders, tokophobia may be associated with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Recognition of tokophobia and close liaison with obstetricians or other medical specialists can help to reduce the severity of tokophobia and ensure efficient treatment.

Primary and secondary tokophobia

Primary tokophobia is the fear of childbirth which pre-dates pregnancy and can start in adolescence.
Secondary tokophobia is due to a previous negative experience regarding traumatic birth, poor obstetric practice or medical attention, postpartum depression or other such upsetting events.
Both forms of tokophobia can be treated with the assistance of a trained medical professional or psychologist.

 

Hope this helps and please feel free to take a look at my Fear and Phobia forum at www.ofear.com where you might find others who have the same fears.

 

Take care

 

John

Cathy Gilbert <vac4nt@gmail.com> wrote:

i have a big phobia of pregnancy but babies dont bother me so much its older kids todlers onwards that scare me, I dont like babies all that much i have no desire to hold them. I've had loads of pregnancy nightmares. One was the baby was trying to claw its way out of my stomach and i could see little hands and feet pressed up on my insides. *shudders*

On 6/28/07, john brace <jonnyjonny_uk@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi Beth,

 

There isnt actually a phobia listed for fear of babies as it is categorised into fear of children (pedophobia).

 

You will find a complete list of phobias that are registered on my forum at www.ofear.com . The direct link to the phobia list is here
http://ofear.com/viewtopic.php?t=17

 

Hope that helps.

 

John

Never Fear Ofear Phobia Forum
me196271 < beth_h8@yahoo.com> wrote:

I do have a fear of children, or pedophobia, but it eases as the
children get older. Babies, especially newborn babies, are utterly
frightening. I imagine they have teeth and are certain to bite, with
horrible consequences. (Funny that I'm not afraid of larger animals
that can bite, including ones that have bitten me.)

Of course, the concept of pregnancy is horrifying. See some of the B-
rated scifi movies of some sort of aliens who get inside people's
bodies.

Pedophobia - Fear of Children
????phobia - Fear of Babies

Does anyone have an idea what this phobia would be called?

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