Emetophobia is the clinical fear of being ill or being around someone while he or she is being ill. Emetophobia can have surprisingly far-reaching effects on your life.
If you have a significant other or spouse, you naturally feel the need to comfort him or her during times of illness. But how can you do so when you are so terrified by seeing someone be sick? And how can you even be near that person when you have such a strong fear of becoming ill?
This is also a major issue for parents and parents-to-be. Many women with emetophobia want to become a mother, but they may hesitate or even decide to give up the idea of having children altogether. They are aware that pregnancy brings a risk of nausea and morning sickness, two things that an emetophobic person finds unbearable.
Another issue for women with emetophobia is how to deal with sick children. For those women who do decide to become a mother, there is the knowledge that their child or children will be sick at some point, especially while young. Being unable to comfort a sick child may be even more difficult for someone than being unable to comfort a sick spouse or partner.
In a blog post for the New York Times, one mother describes how she has struggled with being emetophobic and having children. She talks about how she has reacted when her children vomit or seem close to doing so.
To read the interesting story of this emetophobic mother, click on the link below.
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/14/emetophobia-vomiting-children-and-me/
