(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

At the British Science Festival, one particular topic is dominating the conversation.

Speaking at the conference yesterday was Catriona Jones, a senior research fellow at the University of Hull, who raised concerns on how sharing childbirth horror stories online is causing more and more women to be afraid of giving birth.

The condition is called tocophobia, and according to a study by the Nordic Federation of Obstretrics and Gynecology, 14% of women suffer with it worldwide.

And the figure has been rising steadily since the start of 2000.


In an interview with the Independent, Jones claims that social media is a key factor, with the availability of negative experiences influencing budding mums. She called it the ‘tsunami of horror stories’.

(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

Jones said: ‘If you go into Mumsnet forums, women are telling stories about childbirth — “it’s terrible, it’s a bloodbath”. I think that can be difficult to deal with.’

Responding to the comments made by Jones, founder and CEO of Mumsnet, Justine Roberts, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘We’ve seen a lot of discussion of this on Mumsnet, and a few things have come through loud and clear from our users.



‘First, they feel strongly that women telling the truth about their experiences is not the same thing as scaremongering. Many have also said that they found a great deal of reassurance and positive birth stories on our childbirth and antenatal forums.

‘And quite a few have said that when it came to their own experiences of traumatic births, being able to talk about it honestly (and anonymously) with other women was an important part of their recovery.

‘If there’s one thing this story has shown, it’s that we need to talk about childbirth – the good and the bad – more, not less.’

Also known as maleusiophobia, parturiphobia and lockiophobia, it’s a psychological disorder with two types: primary and secondary.

The former is for those who have never given birth before, and is often linked to familial issues – such as your mother’s experience – while the latter is usually through some form of traumatic experience – be it a previous childbirth, postpartum depression or other birthing complications.

But sharing childbirth stories is not a new development.

Soo Downe, a professor in midwifery studies at the University of Central Lancashire, tells Metro.co.uk that it’s the lack of balance in the tales that is the issue.

‘Throughout history, women have been telling stories about their childbirth experiences, both bad and good, to their closest friends,’ he says.

‘In the past, any traumatic experiences were contained within a community and often balanced out by positive stories. However, the ubiquity of social media and exposure to viral horror stories now means that the good is often outnumbered by the bad.

‘The rise of popular television programmes and documentaries focussing on childbirth have also contributed to a growing fear of giving birth, and the media’s obsession with depicting traumatic experiences has painted an overly negative picture of the experience.

‘This couldn’t be further from the truth, and the vast majority of pregnant mothers have nothing to worry about.’

(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

Avni Trivedi, an ostepath and doula (birth coach) agrees that talking about birth is important, but that it should be done ‘realistically and without sensationalising it’.



She says: ‘Social media is helpful in bringing conversations into the open. However the style of communication can be more like broadcasting and less reflective than a face-to-face conversation might be. Each woman is different and so are her expectations and personal experience.

‘For women who are suffering with tocophobia, I recommend asking their midwife to refer them for professional help. Some women will need to consider having an elective caesarean section if the fear of birth is so profound. For others, educating the mind and body about birth can help to overcome fear.’

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