Why We’re Doing This: Inside Our First Episode of Tik-Tokophobia

Welcome to the very first episode of Tik-Tokophobia. In this honest, unfiltered conversation, hosts Alexia Leachman and JJ Stenhouse break the silence around tokophobia – the intense, often hidden fear of pregnancy and childbirth.

Drawing from their own deeply personal stories, Alexia and JJ reveal how tokophobia can quietly shape a person’s entire life—not just their decisions about having children, but their mental health, relationships, and even creativity.

They challenge everything you thought you knew about reproductive anxiety and make a powerful case for why it’s time to drag this “invisible epidemic” into the open.

If you’ve ever felt paralysed by the idea of pregnancy, or if you’re wondering why anxiety, avoidance, or shame seem to follow you around this topic, this episode will leave you feeling seen, informed, and maybe even a bit hopeful.

Key Points Covered

• The true definition of tokophobia — and why it’s much more than “just a fear of childbirth”

• Alexia and JJ’s personal journeys: discovering their own tokophobia, often decades after it first shaped their lives

• What it feels like to be hit by overwhelming reproductive anxiety — and why it’s often mistaken for something else (anxiety, “not being maternal”, or just “not wanting kids”)

• The fundamental link between trauma (especially birth and early life experiences) and the root of tokophobia

• How tokophobia can sabotage relationships, creativity, and self-worth—often without you ever knowing its name

• Why tokophobia persists in silence: medical dismissal, professional blind spots, and the lack of awareness even among mental health experts

• The role of birth trauma—how your own birth experience can silently shape your lifelong relationship with fear, creativity, and belonging

• Breaking the “not for me” myth: tokophobia isn’t just for women actively planning children — its ripple effects reach anyone who’s ever been born

• The hope and transformation available when tokophobia is finally named, understood and healed

Who This Episode is For

• Anyone who feels dread, shame, or anxiety about pregnancy, birth, or even just encounters with babies—no matter their gender or parental status

• Listeners who suspect there’s something deeper behind their avoidance of pregnancy or long-term creative “blockages”

• Women who have been told they’re simply “not maternal”, “just anxious”, or “overthinking it”—and know there’s more to their story

• Individuals feeling misunderstood, dismissed, or alone in their fears, and wanting real insight (not just platitudes or shallow advice)

• Mental health professionals, partners, family members, and anyone wanting a deeper understanding of reproductive anxiety and its impact

If you’re looking for validation, clarity, and a way forward — this is your episode. Tik-Tokophobia is here to say: you’re not broken, you’re not alone, and real change is possible.

Subscribe and share — this conversation could change (or even save) someone’s life.