I’m Pregnant and Don’t Want to Be Touched

During pregnancy, a woman may develop many symptoms.  Some of the indications in your pregnancy may be exciting, painful, confusing, or annoying. Some of these symptoms can have adverse effects on your relationships during the pregnancy season.

If you are pregnant and do not want to be touched, your relationship with family and friends may be damaged. The aversion to touch symptoms span from slight dislike, avoidance of intimacy to feeling disgusted when touched.   

Why You Don’t Want to Be Touched When Pregnant

Pregnancy comes with many changes to a woman’s body. Many of these changes are uncomfortable and cause significant distress.

You may not want to be touched when pregnant because it makes you feel uneasy.  If you have hypersensitivity to touch, you may feel pain when touched.

Some women fear being touched by strangers. However, if you have intense fear about being touched by family or friends, it could be a symptom of a more serious issue.  You need to consult with your physician to help you establish the cause of your extreme fear. You may have haphephobia, an anxiety disorder whose symptoms include excessive fear of being touched.

What Causes Aversion to Touch in Pregnant Women?

Excessive fear can be caused by witnessing a traumatic incident that involved physical touch. If you experienced such an incident in your earlier years, it could have caused you to develop a fear of being touched by phobia. Even So, some phobias run in the family.

Being pregnant may be the reason you do not want to be touched. You may feel that the baby inside of you has touched you all day already. Because the pregnancy leaves you feeling exhausted, you can develop an aversion to touch.

Not being able to have privacy when pregnant can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Since you already have to take the unborn child everywhere you go, you may feel that your personal space has been invaded. This can leave you feeling irritable. 

However, you can observe and identify how various types of touch make you feel.  Light touch and deep touch may have different effects on you. This experiment can help you find a touch that makes you feel better.

If a pregnant woman does not want to be touched because of a phobia, you can expose the phobic object or situations to the expectant woman. This can help to overcome the fear.

Exercise can also help a pregnant woman to cope with the emotions that may make her not want to be touched.

When to Worry About a Pregnant Woman Who Doesn’t Want to Be Touched

It is a worrisome situation when not wanting to be touched develops into excessive fear every time someone touches you.  You may need to consult your doctor for help if this situation lasts longer than six months and damages your life relationships.

There are situations when being touched is unavoidable. When you start avoiding even the necessary situations such as doctor’s visits, it may be a sign of haphephobia, and you need to seek expert help.

You have a reason to worry if you get overly anxious or develop immediate fear when touched. Sometimes pregnant women who have an aversion to touch may experience panic attacks, sweating, and hot flashes. If this happens, you need to see your doctor.

How to Avoid Being Touched if You Are Pregnant and Don’t Want to Be Touched

Most people understand that pregnancies come with complex symptoms that affect a woman. Though it may hurt other people’s feelings, you can find a polite way to say that you’d rather not be touched during your pregnancy. 

Sharing your feelings with your family and friends helps you to cope better with the symptoms of pregnancy. Your family will respond to you better if you express yourself about how you feel when touched.

Conclusion

Not all pregnant women who don’t want to be touched have an aversion to touch symptoms. Sometimes, your skin may be sensitive to touch, and you feel pain when touched. In most cases, the symptoms do not have a lasting effect and often disappear after your pregnancy term.

However, if you experience excessive fear of being touched, it may be an indication of a more serious issue, and you need to consult an expert immediately.