This was such an interesting read — thank you! I was completely captivated the whole time. And now you have me thinking: I wonder if I am the same way! I’ve never considered that there could be a phobia related to pregnancy, but now it feels like so much is making sense (I’ve always been exceedingly anxious about the prospect of birth and pregnancy, too, and would much rather adopt). I’m really glad that I read this article and that you put your feelings and experiences out there. Hopefully it will give other women the courage to come forward and be comfortable with their own feelings or reservations about pregnancy, too (because I bet there’s more of them out there than we might expect)! I also love what you said about how the backlash was coming from pro-choice women, and how youre looked at as “not maternal” as a result of having this phobia. It truly is related to the roles we construct for women in society and how much shame that seemingly liberal people will carry for someone who expresses a less common viewpoint.

Again, thank you. This was fascinating!