Building Birth Confidence
Building Birth Confidence is the podcast for anyone who is pregnant after a difficult birth, pregnancy loss, or traumatic experience, and who is scared, exhausted, and trying to find a way through.#
I’m Katie, an NHS Mental Health Midwife and Perinatal Trauma Specialist. Every week I bring you honest, clinically informed conversations about the things that rarely get said out loud: the fear, the guilt, the disconnect, the grief that comes with pregnancy after trauma. And the tools, the understanding, and the realistic hope that can make a real difference.
This is not a positive thinking podcast. This is a podcast for people who need more than reassurance. You deserve support that actually meets where you are.
New episodes every week. Start wherever feels right.
Building Birth Confidence
What Is Tokophobia - And Could You Have It?
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Maybe you've heard the word tokophobia before and felt a flicker of recognition. Or maybe you've never heard it - and you've just been carrying this particular dread without a name for it. In this episode, Katie explains what tokophobia actually is, why having a name for it matters, and what it means for the support you can ask for.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- The difference between general birth anxiety and tokophobia — and why it matters
- Primary and secondary tokophobia explained in plain language
- The specific signs that might mean this is more than nerves
- Why having a clinical name for what you're experiencing changes what you can ask for
- What to say at a GP or midwife appointment to access the right support
PRACTICAL TOOL THIS WEEK:
The three-phrase practice - a simple tool for when the dread arrives: "I know what this is. This response makes sense. I am safe right now."
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Free Trauma-Informed Birth Plan Workbook | Birthcare with Katie
30-Day Calm & Confident Birth Challenge (free)
https://birthcare.co.uk/30-day-mindset-challenge
Better Birth Anxiety Workbook — The Birthcare Collection
https://birthcare.co.uk/products-list
Birth Without Fear: Essentials for a Better Birth
https://birthcare.co.uk/birth-without-fear
CONNECT WITH KATIE:
Instagram: @birthcarewithkatie
Website: https://birthcare.co.uk/
With compassion,
Katie - NHS Mental Health Midwife | Perinatal Trauma Specialist