Summary
Pregnancy has profound effects on a variety of body systems by way of hormonal and
physical changes. Many of these changes directly affect body systems involved in singing.
Assumptions exist about what can happen to a person's voice during pregnancy, but
these assumptions are based on theoretical predictions leaving little knowledge of
the lived experiences of voice changes during pregnancy. An anonymous mixed-method
survey was given to 321 professional singers to gain insights on the lived experiences
of pregnant singers. This investigation explored what people were told about the effects
of pregnancy on the voice in comparison to what they actually experienced. Results
show that about half of the respondents’ experience matched what they were told for
respiration. For phonation and vocal quality less than 25% respondent's experience
matched what they were told. In addition, most of the information respondents received
came from friends, colleagues, and teachers compared to medical professionals suggesting
a need for more interdisciplinary education to best prepare vocalists who are contemplating
becoming pregnant.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 27, 2022
Accepted:
March 20,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
