For people with severe fear of vomiting, becoming a parent feels impossible.
Here’s how people navigate emetophobia and pregnancy.
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Even though she didnt specify the illness, my mind immediately jumped to what could be wrong.
My sister confirmed that her 7-year-old appeared to havenorovirusa virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea.
(According to her mommy group chat, it was circulating within his second-grade classroom.)
therapist who specializes in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobias
I didnt want to tell you, she admitted, fully aware of my response beingoh-sopredictable.
The reaction I was having right that second.
Its unpleasant and unbearable, reaching the point of hysteria.
What is emetophobia?
Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting.
Petrik-Gardner says that emetophobia can lead to excessive compulsions to help cope with a persons anxiety surrounding vomiting.
; Does thismilk smell off?
; Will I get sick?
), and carrying meds or other items around just in case, she says.
therapist who specializes in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobias
Im genuinely terrified of vomit.
All of those scenarios can send me into a tailspin of fear.
Im genuinely terrified of vomit, whether its my own or someone elses.
All of those scenariosand their upchuck potentialcan send me into a tailspin of fear and all-or-nothing thinking.
Emetophobia can be debilitating, and severely limiting on ones life.
Unfortunately, not many people quite get it.
Howare you going to have children one day?
my sister would ask, seeing me panic over her 3-year-old with a stomach ache.
(A 3-year-old with a stomach ache…because he ate too many fruit snack packs.)
Id always wanted to be a parent.
Id be the chaperone on my daughters field trip to the museum in one.
It was enough for me to stop before I even could get started.
I had to admit that my sister had a point: HowdoI plan on having kids?
I almost let my anxiety decide for me to go childless, she says.
And thatsjustthe vomiting part!
Dr. Cook says that parenthood is often viewed as making life even more uncertain.
Impossible enough tomake someone stop their parenting journey2before it even starts.
This feeling rings true for Christina*, a 25-year-old LA-based copy editor.
For as long as I have cognizant memory, I have been dealing with emetophobia, she says.
She told her husband about her condition when she married.
I was like, Hey, heres this thing Im dealing with.
Some clinicians are using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), an evidence-based treatment for emetophobia.
This is the most evidence-based when it comes totreating phobias, panic attacks, social anxiety, and OCD3.
Instead, Dr. Cook worked her way up with exposures.
I learned that, yes, vomit is gross.
Most people will tell you that.
But its not life or death, as my brain had told me in the past.
Im not about gritting my teeth and enduring discomfort without additional support, she says.
She admits that managing her emetophobia on top of the normal difficulties of pregnancy was a lot of work.
But she has zero regrets.
Her son brings her an extreme amount of happiness she wouldnt have known without facing her fears.
And Ive had him vomit on me multiple times, she says.
I have had the stomach flu twice.
It was no big deal.
A few years ago, she couldnt have ever imagined saying that and meaning it.
Christina feels the same way.
*Last name has been withheld.
Maack, Danielle J et al.
Exposure therapy for emetophobia: a case study with three-year follow-up.Journal of anxiety disordersvol.
27,5 (2013): 527-34. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.07.001
Nath, Selina et al.
The characteristics and prevalence of phobias in pregnancy.Midwiferyvol.
82 (2020): 102590. doi:10.1016/j.midw.2019.102590
Law, Clara, and Christina L Boisseau.
Exposure and Response Prevention in the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Current Perspectives.Psychology research and behavior managementvol.
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