Fear of Childbirth
Tokophobia
Tokophobia is a significant fear of childbirth, and it is a common reason why some women request an elective caesarean section. That makes it unusual among the phobias, most of which cost a person something and produce nothing. This one produces an operation, planned in advance, with a date.
The fear is assembled from recognisable parts: fear of pain, fear of death, fear of unexpected problems, fear of injury to the baby, fear of sexual problems afterwards, and a lack of confidence in one's own ability to give birth. Fear of labour pain in particular is strongly associated with fear of pain in general, and a previous complicated childbirth or inadequate pain relief the last time can produce the phobia outright.
Why tokophobia gets overlooked in clinics
An article in the British Journal of Psychiatry in 2000 described it as a psychological disorder that had received little attention and might be overlooked, and it was that article that introduced the term to the medical literature. Being overlooked matters here more than it does elsewhere, because the person carrying the fear is already inside the medical system and being seen regularly by professionals who could recognise it.
Recognition plus close liaison with obstetricians or other specialists is what reduces the severity and gets treatment moving. Perinatal psychologists set out what the work consists of: listening, validating, exploring, and tailoring the intervention to the person, with multiprofessional engagement and cooperation throughout. Counselling is the usual route.
How it presents
It presents like any phobia:
- nightmares
- difficulty concentrating on work or on family life
- panic attacks
- psychosomatic complaints
Alongside the specific phobia and the anxiety disorders it may also be associated with depression and with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The causes are complex and not reducible to one thing, but they are associated with a lack of social support and with stress, depression and anxiety, which is a list of conditions that respond to being noticed.
Why leaving it alone is expensive
An unaddressed fear of childbirth can produce a prolonged labour and complications during the birth itself. It is also associated with postpartum depression and with post-traumatic stress disorder afterwards. The fear anticipates a bad birth and then contributes to producing one, which is the strongest practical argument for treating it as a clinical matter rather than as nerves.
Which names tokophobia goes by
Tokophobia comes from the Greek tokos, childbirth, on phobos. Maieusiophobia is built on the Greek maieusis, literally the delivery of a woman in childbirth but used generally for midwifery. Parturiphobia comes from the Latin parturire, to be pregnant. Lockiophobia is a fourth. Four names, one of which arrived in 2000 and is the one the literature settled on.
Told apart
Often confused with Fear of Childbirth
- Fear of PainFear of labour pain is described as strongly associated with fear of pain in general, and inadequate pain relief in a previous birth is one documented route into the phobia.
- Fear of HospitalsBoth attach to the same building and the same procedures, and both can end in avoidance of care. This one attaches to a single event that happens there.
- Fear of Death and Dead BodiesFear of dying is named as one of the components, which makes this a case where a general fear is concentrated onto one occasion rather than a separate condition.
Common questions
Questions about Tokophobia
- What does the fear commonly lead to?
- A request for an elective caesarean section. It is named as a common reason for that request, which makes this one of the few phobias with a scheduled surgical outcome.
- When did the term enter the literature?
- In 2000, through an article in the British Journal of Psychiatry that described it as a disorder receiving little attention and liable to be overlooked.
- What happens if it is not addressed?
- It is associated with prolonged labour and complications during the birth itself, and afterwards with postpartum depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The fear anticipates a bad birth and then contributes to producing one, which is the practical argument for treating it clinically rather than as nerves.
- What do perinatal psychologists recommend?
- Listening, validating, exploring and tailoring the intervention to the person, with several professions engaged and cooperating throughout rather than one clinician working alone. Counselling is the usual route, and close liaison with obstetricians is what reduces the severity and gets treatment moving.
- How many names does it have?
- Four. Tokophobia from the Greek tokos for childbirth, maieusiophobia from the Greek for midwifery, parturiphobia from the Latin parturire, and lockiophobia. Only tokophobia stuck, and it arrived in 2000 with the article that introduced the term to the medical literature.
Added 2026-08-23 · Revised 2026-08-26
Nearby in the catalogue
Related entries
- Fear of PainGuarding, hypervigilance and avoidance are all meant to reduce pain and in the long term worsen it. At least ten per cent of adults have pain outlasting the injury.
- Fear of HospitalsThe fear and the thing feared are built from one Greek word: nosokomeion gives both the phobia and the adjective for an infection caught in hospital.
- Fear of Death and Dead BodiesNeolithic and ancient Greek burials come up with stones and broken amphora fragments laid over the corpse, placed there to keep it from rising.
- Fear of ChildrenA management professor said a critical mass of younger persons produces an explosive increase in crime, and the climate of fear followed from there.
- Fear of MonstersOne word, two definitions in circulation. The encyclopedia records a fear that can end in a decision not to have children. The lists record the monster under the bed.
- Fear of AgeingHe bent forward so he would not look tall, ate less to stunt his growth, and pitched his voice higher to sound younger. He was twelve when it started.