Ten Years On: Why I Nearly Shut It All Down
A few years ago I nearly shut this whole thing down. Ten years on, JJ Stenhouse interviews me about how the podcast started, what it cost, and the…
From the publication
Author: Alexia Leachman
Alexia Leachman has specialised in tokophobia and reproductive anxiety since 2015, and has personal experience of tokophobia. She is the founder of Fear Free Childbirth and hosts its podcast. She developed the Head Trash Clearance Method, which she uses in her work with women and teaches to perinatal professionals. She is the author of Fearless Birthing and Betrayed By Your Biology and a contributor to Childbirth, Midwifery and the Media.
Challenging the Maternity System: Collective Voices, Activism, and Building a Better Birth Experience, with Mars Lord
Wanting a physiological birth is being painted as an ideology. Birth activist Mars Lord on what has changed in ten years, and our plan to fix maternity care.
The Tokophobia Severity Scale: What It Measures, and What It Misses
A 13-question scale now scores tokophobia, and it was built for women who’ve never been pregnant. Alexia Leachman on what it gets right and what it leaves out.
We’ve Been Measuring Fear of Childbirth Too Simply. Two New Studies Show Why
Two new studies suggest one fear-of-birth score hides more than it shows. Alexia Leachman on what the research found, what it misses, and what needs to change.
IVF Anxiety: What It Actually Takes To Get To This Place
A woman going through IVF overhears a midwife call her patient anxious. Alexia Leachman on what it actually takes to get into that clinic, what it costs, and…
Matrescence: The Identity Shift No One Can Prepare You For
Matrescence is the identity shift of becoming a mother – as big as adolescence, and nobody warns you. Alexia Leachman on the becoming no one can prepare you…