Cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy of tokophobia
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1
Pracownia Psychopatologii Eksperymentalnej, Instytut Psychologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk
2
Szpital Specjalistyczny św. Zofii, Centrum Medyczne "Żelazna" w Warszawie
3
Lazurowa Terapia Poznawczo-Behawioralna - prywatna praktyka
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Submission date: 2024-10-08
Final revision date: 2025-03-04
Acceptance date: 2025-03-04
Publication date: 2025-06-03
Psychoter 2025;212(1):29-44
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ABSTRACT
The objective of this article is to present the phenomenon of tokophobia, or fear of childbirth, in the context of cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy. It is estimated that severe fear of childbirth affects 10%-15% of pregnant women, which may translate into a notable rise in the number of caesarean sections in recent years. The first section of the article examines the various forms of tokophobia, its aetiology, its place in the classifications of mental disorders, and the consequences for the individual experiencing fear of childbirth and for society in general, specifically in the form of health consequences for the mothers and children. The next part of the article presents a description of the cognitive-behavioural mechanisms that may underlie tokophobia. These include classical and operant conditioning, vicarious acquisition, and the transmission of fearful information. The article also describes diagnostic tools for tokophobia and selected therapeutic interventions, including the exposure-based Dual-Session Tokophobia Intervention (DSTI) protocol. The paper identifies gaps in scientific research on the therapy of tokophobia and points to a need for further studies of tokophobia psychotherapy efficacy with more rigorous methods that would allow for conclusions with lesser risks of bias.