(tocophobia) n. a profound fear of childbirth. There are two types: primary tokophobia, which develops in adolescence and causes many women to avoid childbirth altogether; and secondary tokophobia, which occurs after a traumatic delivery and can stop a woman having another child. Women are more at risk from tokophobia if they have had any of the following: a history of rape or sexual abuse; harrowing memories of educational videos during adolescence; a history of depression; or experience of panic attacks.
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