Are you afraid of pregnancy? A new campaign says you’re not alone
Two women are raising awareness of Reproductive Anxiety Disorder and how debilitating it can be.
A new campaign called Tik-Tokophobia has launched, shining a spotlight on Reproductive Anxiety Disorder (RAD) – a condition linked to extreme fear of pregnancy and childbirth, also known as tokophobia.
Led by mental health expert Alexia Leachman and UK Health Radio presenter JJ Stenhouse, the movement is calling for RAD to be recognised as a serious and distinct anxiety disorder.
The pair say they are on a mission to reframe women’s mental health. Alongside two new white papers, the campaign has launched a free podcast which dives deeper into the emotional realities of RAD and how it silently affects millions of women.
JJ unknowingly suffered from RAD until recently. She says: “Our mission is to get RAD recognised as a legitimate anxiety disorder, and bring public awareness to what women are actually dealing with.
“We want to change the conversation around reproductive health.”
What is Reproductive Anxiety Disorder (RAD)?
Tokophobia is an extreme fear of childbirth, but Alexia and JJ say that this isn’t the only way women experience anxiety around reproduction. It’s one part of what they are calling Reproductive Anxiety Disorder, which they say includes a broader framework of reproductive fear.
While fears around pregnancy and birth are not new, Alexia and JJ believe the scale, severity and knock-on impact of these anxieties are being massively underestimated and misunderstood.
On their website, they write that RAD “reveals why some women panic at the thought of pregnancy without knowing why. And it names the deep-rooted fear that often hides beneath the surface of other diagnoses — like OCD, panic disorder, or health anxiety.”
According to the campaign, RAD can show up in a wide range of ways, including:
- Deep fear of pregnancy and childbirth (tokophobia)
- Avoidance of sex or difficulty with intimacy
- Fertility struggles or unexplained childlessness
- Emotional disconnection from family planning
- Menopause-related burnout or mental health decline
- Mistrust of one’s own body and cycles
Alexia believes RAD is not just another diagnosis, but potentially “the mother of all anxieties” when it comes to women’s health — “the unspoken force disrupting everything from puberty to menopause.”
“We're building awareness of something that currently does not exist in public discourse yet affects millions of women worldwide,” she says.
“Women are diagnosed with anxiety at double the rate of men, but no one is asking why. We believe RAD is a missing piece – a new lens through which we can understand the mental health epidemic in women.”
The campaign aims to help women feel seen
The Tik-Tokophobia podcast launched in May, and aims to tackle the personal, medical, emotional, and societal consequences of tokophobia and RAD.
The podcast is part of a broader online resource hub at tik-tokophobia.com, where women can learn more about RAD and find support tools.
Whether you’re pregnant, planning, or done having babies, RAD could still be part of your story, and Alexia and JJ think more awareness could be life-changing.
You can find out more and listen to the podcast at tik-tokophobia.com.