Tokophobia. Causes, symptoms and psychotherapy

Abstract

The fear of childbirth is a mental health problem that involves a severe, excessive fear of pregnancy and the time of birth. This condition is also called "tocophobia" or, better said, birth phobia. This review is based on information from articles in the literature published between January 1, 2001 and November 1, 2021 in PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar using the following keywords: fear of childbirth, symptoms, causes, tools, psychological interventions. In this review, we discussed the types of fears women have about pregnancy and childbirth, the instruments that is used for assessing the fear of childbirth, and how to cope with and overcome this fear. According to the literature, the role of psychological counseling for women facing fear of childbirth is important in the optimal management of emotional symptoms associated with pregnancy.