Top 4 Pregnancy Fears And How To Overcome Them?

Experiencing fear and phobias during pregnancy are common. In this article, you will know about the various kinds of phobias a pregnant woman might develop and tips on overcoming them.

‘Tokophobia’ is the term used for fear experienced in the pregnancy period. This is a psychological issue that occurs in some women the moment they know about their pregnancy. These fears are not restricted to first-time moms, women who are in their second or third pregnancy may feel as well. Sometimes, these get so worse that may lead the woman to opt for an abortion.

In This Article

Causes of Pregnancy Fears

There are many causes that can trigger pregnancy fears, which might make it difficult for an expecting mom to cope up with her pregnancy. The causes are:

  • Labor pain
  • Lack of emotional support from spouse or parents.
  • Previous miscarriages or stillbirths.
  • Bad pregnancy experiences like trauma of a close friend or relative.

What are the Symptoms of Tokophobia?

Many women who are pregnant often feel that they are alone in this suffering and no one can save them in such a situation. This fear would make them believe that both their life and their kid’s life are in great danger. This as a result leads to development of one or more of these symptoms such as:

  • Excess sweating
  • Vomiting
  • Difficulty in breathing
  • Dry mouth
  • Not feeling well
  • Trembling profusely
  • High heart palpitations
  • Inability to think calmly
  • Fear of dying
  • Panic attacks
  • Detached feeling

[ Read: Myths About Pregnancy ]

Top Fears of Pregnancy And Ways To Conquer

Women tend to experience one or more fears in pregnancy listed below, which can affect the health of the mother and her baby. If you are one such mom to be, you have to remember that you can overcome the fear easily as it occurs from some kind of a long-buried inner conflict. Here is our guide on various pregnancy phobias and how you can conquer them:

1. You Might Not Have A Healthy Baby:

This fear would haunt you when you have had a miscarriage or stillbirth in your previous pregnancy or have read and heard about babies born with defects. You can have a discussion with your doctor about this fear and take up an ultrasound or fetal protein test to help you stay assured that your baby’s growth is normal and healthy.

2. Intense Labor Pain:

Some of your close connections like a sister or a friend could have experienced a painful delivery with lots of contractions. This might have left you terrified about the labor pain before the delivery. Your doctor would help you to overcome this issue by offering information on an array of pain relief options that are available these days. You can also discuss with your doctor about having a caesarean section to eliminate the agony of pain.

3. You Will Not Make A Good Mother:

This is an issue which might arise when you don’t share a loving bond with your mother. You can make yourself fully equipped to welcome your baby by reading lots of books and referring to websites on parenting. Another interactive idea is to join online “parenting” forums, which would have other mothers as members and have conversations with them to relieve your phobia.

4. Delivering Your Baby Suddenly Or At An Unexpected Place:

You are bound to find such news in the newspapers, as these cases are very rare. You can feel the labor pain in an intense way and you will not suddenly pop out a baby without any signs! Therefore, be assured that nothing is going to happen all of a sudden. Educate yourself about the different stages of labor, the signs you must look for and arrange for backups. Have the emergency number of your hospital handy and stay mentally strong.

Giving birth is indeed a tough process, but there is no reason why you should not have a good delivery and happy memories of your pregnancy. Take care of yourself with lots of rest and healthy food, and all the best for the new arrival in your life!

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