Do you have a fear of giving birth? Then you most likely have Tokophobia or what is better known as a childbirth phobia.
This is not about a simple fear; this is a morbid fear of giving birth.
That may sound like an unusual type of phobia but in reality about 13% of women experience fear when they think about giving birth.
In fact the fear can be so severe that women will do just about anything to make sure they don't get pregnant; that can include sex avoidance, divorce and in some case even a hysterectomy.
It's even been noted that some already pregnant Tokophobic women would rather terminate their pregnancy than give birth to their child.
So where does this fear come from? There are no real clear cut answers to this.
For women who fear giving birth; childhood experiences or traumatic events could be to blame.
There are also women who fear subsequent pregnancies because they have had previous traumatic birth experiences such as a miscarriage, a stillbirth, or abortions.
Regardless of how these fears and phobias have come about, they can be severely debilitating.
Fear of childbirth also comes in many forms such as fear of the pain, fear of miscarriage, fear of death to the mother, child or both, fear of the responsibilities of being a mother or even the fear of a malformed child.
Whatever the reasons, fear of giving birth is a real phobia for many women.
So much so that it has led to destroyed marital relationships, low self-esteem and anxiety.
What can a woman who has a childbirth phobia do to overcome this fear? Phobias of any kind are not easy to overcome.
It takes time to resolve such extreme fears but it also requires support from friends and family members which for many women is a problem all by itself as many people are not sympathetic to such fears.
Family members as well as some doctors label these women as being childish, wimpy or weak.
Suffering through the anxiety, fear and negative labeling that is associated with the fear of childbirth can be resolved by seeking professional help from a qualified Psychiatrist or Psychotherapist.
In fact it has shown to be effective in significantly reducing most of the fears associated with childbirth.
For women who are already pregnant and find themselves experiencing fear of pain associated with giving birth, it has been suggested that having a c-section may help relieve those fears and in may cases this may be the answer, however before considering abdominal surgery as a work around, professional therapy would be a better place to start.
In fact it's been noted that women who seek having a c-section as a way to remedy their fear of pain, psychotherapy has reduced their c-section rate by about 50%.
If you are plagued with the fear of giving birth and are suffering with anxiety, fear and negative labeling, try seeking professional help, at the very least discuss your fears with other women that understand your situation.
Ridding yourself of such any phobia is about breaking down the fears and blocking emotional stress, then building up your confidence and allowing you to take positive control.
It's always better to get to the root of the problem and resolve it as opposed to working around it.