Tokophobia: Although pregnancy is a very beautiful feeling, but becoming a mother and the journey of 9 months of pregnancy sometimes becomes a big fear for women. Many women get worried seeing a pregnant woman in pain, due to which they start getting scared of conceiving. The number of those women is also very large, in whom the fear of normal delivery is seen. Many things related to pregnancy make women fearful. However, do you know that this fear is not just fear, but a kind of phobia, which is called Tokophobia. Many women around the world go through tokophobia regarding pregnancy.
What is tokophobia?
Tokophobia is a fear associated with pregnancy and childbirth. It is completely normal to be anxious about pregnancy and delivery. Every pregnant woman is worried to some extent about how all this will pass or what will happen next. According to NCT, the worldwide rate of tokophobia in pregnant women is more than 1 in 10. While preliminary research done in fathers shows that 1 in 10 men is also a victim of tokophobia. The NCBI states that tokophobia can be classified as primary or secondary.
In primary tokophobia, those women come who have no previous experience of pregnancy and have a lot of fear about the birth of a child. While secondary tokophobia is considered a form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is the most common form of tokophobia and is seen in women who have had a traumatic previous experience of childbirth. Many women prefer to give importance to C-section i.e. operation instead of normal delivery due to fear of safety, so that they do not have any physical discomfort or pain.
Symptoms of Tokophobia
1. recurring nightmares
2. rapid deep breathing
3. sweating and trembling
4. worry and anxiety
5. Weeping
6. nausea or vomiting
7. try to avoid sex
8. feeling isolated from your partner and children
9. thoughts of death
treatment of tokophobia
Women with tokophobia are often prescribed anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications. Research shows that this fear can be reduced with specific psychological and emotional support during pregnancy. For this, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Hypnotherapy and EMDR i.e. Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing are also recommended therapies. CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) can go a long way in helping you identify aspects of childbirth that contribute to tokophobia. You can also get out of this problem by talking to a mental health professional.
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