Overcoming Tokophobia: it IS possible!
Alexia cleared her own tokophobia and developed a method that has helped women clear theirs for more than 10 years.
In this article:
Tokophobia is the extreme fear of pregnancy and birth. A global meta-analysis of 67 studies covering more than 905,000 pregnant women found that 16.5% had severe fear of childbirth (Maghalian et al., 2026), so you would think that it was reasonably well known and that help was available. But it isn’t, and help or support is hard to come by. Overcoming tokophobia is the kind of thing that can change your life, and yet for many it seems out of reach, impossible almost. But this isn’t the case. I’ve heard many women talk about how they need to find ways of coping or handling their tokophobia. Some dream of artificial wombs, while others talk of having their tubes tied. Both of these sound like quite dramatic solutions. And they also reveal how women feel about their tokophobia; like they’re stuck with it. That nothing can be done about it. But that’s not the case. Tokophobia can be overcome.
There is more research into tokophobia now and we know much more about it. There is also a wide range of therapies, and some people find that certain approaches work quickly. That’s not to say that change is guaranteed, or that everyone will see it.
The challenges in overcoming tokophobia
There are so many variables at play for me to be able to say with certainty that anyone can expect to overcome tokophobia. While I and many who I’ve supported have overcome tokophobia, it doesn’t mean that this is possible for everyone. Here are some of the factors which may affect the likelihood of you experiencing success in putting tokophobia behind you.
Anxiety
Anxiety and tokophobia are commonly found together. It’s difficult to say as whether one causes the other, but they certainly feed off each other and make each other worse. In the women I’ve worked with, when there has been an underlying anxiety problem, it’s been less straightforward. We’ve had to tackle the anxiety before being able to seriously tackle the tokophobia, so it’s meant that things have just taken longer.
OCD
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is another condition that is often found alongside tokophobia. As with anxiety, it can exacerbate the tokophobia and could lead to women obsessing over their fertility cycle or birth control.
Trauma
Trauma is often a contributory factor to tokophobia. Some people find that some traumas can be worked through relatively quickly. However, sometimes trauma is more complex and deep-rooted. This may prevent the tokophobia from being overcome until the trauma has been dealt with more effectively.
Challenges aside, I think it’s worth repeating that it is possible to overcome it. We shouldn’t be thinking of it as something that is permanent and impossible to overcome.
Overcoming tokophobia is possible
Unfortunately, many sufferers of tokophobia simply do not know that it’s possible. It’s not their fault mind. They might not even realise that the feelings they have are related to a known condition that has a name. And this lack of awareness around tokophobia is not just limited to those who suffer with it, it’s the healthcare professionals too. Even if you choose to speak to a healthcare professional about your tokophobia, they might not know about it or understand it, let alone be able to point you in the direction of help or support. I overcame my tokophobia.
When I succeeded in overcoming tokophobia, I didn’t realise that what I had done was such a big deal. It was only after my second birth, that it started to dawn on me. I received emails from women I didn’t even know who were asking me how I did it. Answering these emails wasn’t a quick task. Within a short space of time, the emails became a bit too much. So much so that I decided that writing a book to explain myself would be quicker. So I did.
That book is Fearless Birthing: Clear Your Fears for a Positive Birth. It was once that I’d written the draft that I decided to launch the Fear Free Childbirth podcast as a way of getting my message out until the book was ready to be published.
Not sure whether what you feel is tokophobia?
If you recognise yourself here, it can help to see where you sit. The free Tokophobia Test takes about five minutes – no pressure, no scare tactics.
Take the free Tokophobia Test › (Provided by our partner Fearless Birthing.)
How fear clearance works
I’ve since worked with lots of women all over the world in helping them to clear their fears and prepare for birth. What’s clear to me is that a fear of childbirth isn’t just limited to those women with tokophobia; a lot of women have it. It’s just that the women with tokophobia have it much worse. But the good news is that when it comes to clearing fears, fear-clearance techniques aren’t choosy. A fear is a fear, whether it’s a strong one or a weak one. The clearance technique is still the same. Overcoming tokophobia is possible and there is hope. So if that’s you, then let me share with you how that might look.
Overcoming tokophobia: the practical steps
The first important step is to want to do this. This might sound a silly thing to say but it’s important to state. I come across a lot of tokophobic women who are fearful of their fears and don’t even want to go there. You have to want to overcome your fears, and this means facing up to them. I know that this can sound like a scary prospect and that’s why I offer my Tokophobia Support Programme, run by our partner site Fearless Birthing, with differing levels of support. Some women are happy to crack on with clearing their fears with just a bit of guidance. Whereas others, need someone to be there with them while they face up to them. I think it’s important to offer choice for something like this. If you’re up for it, then brilliant. The next bit is to unpick your tokophobia. What are your fears? Are they linked to events that have happened to you? Write them out and explore all this. The thing about tokophobia (and indeed any other big fear or anxiety) is that we can find it quite hard to break it down at first because it can seem so overwhelming. Once the phobia has been picked apart, we can move on to fear clearance. I use the Head Trash Clearance Method™ to clear fears. It’s a technique I developed as I was striving to overcome my own tokophobia. Other approaches are available, including talking therapies, and different things work for different people. I come across a lot of women who feel they have tried everything, so I stick to sharing the technique I know best. The Head Trash Clearance Method™ is the one that I used and it’s what I use with my clients.
Do you think you have tokophobia?
One woman’s story
I run a support group for women with tokophobia. The Tokophobia Support Programme, run by our partner site Fearless Birthing, is a paid four-week group programme. I created this because I know that not all women can afford my private sessions. But I also know that some need support and accountability on their fear-clearance journey. This might be because their fears feel so scary or simply because they need someone to help them keep going.
The Tokophobia Support Program is the best of both worlds; an online program that teaches how to clear tokophobic fears with support from me along the way through weekly group calls. Here is Nicole describing her experience of the programme. It is one woman’s experience.
Overcoming tokophobia does not have to follow this trajectory. I know of some women who have been committed to ridding themselves of tokophobia over a number of years. During that time they’ve tried many different things (and spent a lot of money doing so). Some of the things have included education, journalling, meditation, couples therapy, and personal therapy. It’s been the culmination over several years that eventually led to them being able to free themselves of it.
What next?
If you would like to have a no-obligation chat to find out whether we might be a good fit in working together then click the link below to book some time.
Book a no-obligation tokophobia chat here
I’d be more than happy to help you to decide which of my tokophobia services might be a good fit for you, if indeed any of them are. If they’re not, I’ll say.
Where to go from here
Understanding what you’re dealing with is the first step. The free Tokophobia Test takes about five minutes and tells you what you’re facing – no pressure, no scare tactics.
When you’re ready to stop carrying this on your own, the Tokophobia Support Circle is a small monthly membership where women who understand work through it together, with a live group call each month. For focused one-to-one help, there’s the Tokophobia Support Programme.
Both are run by our partner site Fearless Birthing – founded, like Fear Free Childbirth, by Alexia Leachman. You can also read Alexia’s books, Betrayed By Your Biology and Fearless Birthing.
Tokophobia questions, answered
Can tokophobia really be overcome?
Yes. Tokophobia is a fear response, not a fixed trait – and fear responses can be cleared. Many women move past it, some before they’ve ever been pregnant, some after a previous traumatic birth.
Do I need to be pregnant to work on it?
No. It is often easier to clear the fear before pregnancy, when there is no time pressure. Primary tokophobia – fear in someone who has never given birth – responds well to this work.
How long does it take?
It varies. Modern fear-clearance approaches often work faster than traditional talking therapy, but anxiety, OCD or trauma alongside the tokophobia can mean it takes longer.
About the author: 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. Alexia cleared her own tokophobia before the birth of her first daughter in 2010. More about Alexia ›
Sources
Maghalian M, Alizadeh-Dibazari Z, Mirghafourvand M (2026). Global prevalence and associated factors of severe fear of childbirth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 29, 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-025-01648-0
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Fear Free Childbirth is a publication and is not a substitute for medical or mental-health care. If you’re struggling to cope or in crisis, please contact your GP, midwife or a qualified professional.
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