Respiratory Coordination and Acoustic Vocal Quality of Two Opera Singers through the 2nd and 3rd Trimesters of Pregnancy

Marissa Fieland*, Jennifer Burks MM , Kayla Gautereaux MM

Objective
The purpose of this study is to assess whether the transition between the second and third trimesters of pregnancy correlates to changes in respiration coordination and acoustic vocal quality of two pregnant singers. While there have been numerous studies addressing changes in vocal fold behavior during pregnancy, there is limited research on how changes in respiration coordination affects vocal fold function during pregnancy.

Methods
This case study will observe two participants. Singer A is a 31-year-old professional opera singer engaging in data collection starting at 20 weeks gestation, and Singer B is a 26-year-old graduate-level opera singer engaging in data collection starting at 24 weeks gestation. Acoustic and respiratory inductance plethysmography data is collected weekly. Singers record a sustained [a] and a continuous speech passage, a sung excerpt from Strauss’ Zueignung, and a sustained [a] on C5 in an acoustically controlled environment with a small diaphragm, flat response microphone (Earthworks M30) 5cm from the corner of the mouth. A voice-use log is used to track weekly vocal load and perceived fatigue. A swell test with the pitch of falter for two exercises is recorded bi-weekly. The analysis will include Voice Turbulence Index (VTI), Voice Handicap Index (VHI), Maximum Phonation Time (MPT), Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI), Konno-Meade plotting of respiration dynamics, and spectrographic analysis using PRAAT.

Results
Data collection is ongoing and will end in December 2024.