Teratophobia

Teratophobia refers to the condition of having an abnormal, extreme fear of giving birth to a malformed child. (Compare with tocophobia - the fear of giving birth, irrespective of the health of the child)

Extreme fears (phobias) such as teratophobia can lead to a variety of disturbing symptoms such as: Breathlessness; difficulty in thinking or speaking clearly; dizziness; dry mouth; fear of dying, "going mad" or losing control; feeling sick; nausea; palpitations, shaking; sweating profusely; or a full blown anxiety attack. Not all sufferers are affected by all possible symptoms, and some individuals may also have other reactions.

Even though many adult sufferers of teratophobia (and/or other fears/phobias) are aware that their fears are unreasonable, many still experience severe anxiety even when just thinking about the subject or situation they fear.

Note that the list of phobias included in this section (see the list on the left) is not complete. There are very many, some obscure, fears that have specific names in this format. We have included some of the most common/interesting.