Teratophobia

Fear of bearing a malformed child.

A phobia is an unreasonable sort of fear that can cause avoidance and panic.

Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder.

Phobias can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy using exposure and fear reduction techniques.

In many cases, anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication proves helpful, especially during the early stages of therapy.</P> The word 'teratophobia' is made up of 'terato-' and - 'phobia.' 'Terato-' comes from the Greek 'teras' meaning monster + '- phobia' from the Greek 'phobos' meaning fear = literally, fear (of) monsters.

Teratology is the study of malformations and a teratogen is anything that can cause a birth defect.</P> The term dysmorphophobia also means fear of bearing a malformed child.

Dysmorphology is another term for the study of congenital malformations (birth defects).