What is tokophobia?

Tokophobia is defined as a pathological fear of pregnancy that can lead to avoidance of childbirth*. Some people wonder if there is a tokophobia test to find out “have it” before getting pregnant.

Why can women experience tokophobia?

The idea of growing a human being inside your body can be scary for many people. It can come from many places, something they have seen, society, heard of horror stories and more. When this fear becomes extreme, can be called primary tokophobia. However, if you have already been pregnant, and from there you develop extreme fear, that would be a secondary tokophobia.

As with any phobia, it depends on each person why is it that they are doing that phobia. In most cases, it has to do with a misinterpretation of the brain of a significant event. And the significant event can be anything. In many cases, you can get to the root of the phobia through regression. And even so, still will depend on each person.

Is there a tokophobia test?

The quick answer is no. There is no tokophobia test. If you are thinking of getting pregnant, your GP, in the UK, can support you and refer you. It might be a little lengthy the process. Talking therapies would be the best approach. You can always research yourself on what would be the type of talking therapy you would be most comfortable with. There has been in the past years, a test developed in a South American country.

‘It scares me to think about pregnancy’

You are not alone. There is no comparison to being pregnant and giving birth. You must have heard this before, but your body knows how to do it. There are many ways to work on becoming more confident and empowered about being pregnant. A great starting point is a research, not about the negatives, but a realistic way. Maybe, you can include medical research papers, speak to other women, GP, and professionals that work with pregnant women. You can explore what hypnotherapy is, and ways it can support you. Whatever you choose, make sure it is what you would feel more comfortable with. This is your journey.

Can tokophobia be cured?

Tokophobia is a common phobia, and as such, hypnotherapy can help you to overcome it or find ways to manage it. As it is a type of brief therapy you could overcome it in between 4 to 12 sessions. Which can be done safely online or in South London. 

If you are looking for a confidential chat, to have a better understanding of how to move forward, book a call.

* Tokophobia definition by NCBI