During pregnancy, voice may be affected by changing it’s quality mainly during the third trimester. The increased levels in hormones such as estrogen and progesterone during pregnancy causes the change in voice. We know that our vocal cords are string like structures that opens by inhalation and closes by exhalation, thereby producing vibration and voice. It is made up of minute muscles and the hormones during pregnancy act on the mucosa, muscles, tissues in the bone, cerebral cortex, and the voice box. This makes the mucosal membrane to be in reddish color and leading to conditions like edema and dehydration. The edema may in turn leads to hoarseness and breathlessness in voice as well as changes in breathing pattern from abdominal to clavicular region. These changes leads to reduced phonation duration and thereby reducing overall loudness in the voice. Generally, women’s voice is high pitched compared to men. All these factors reduces the pitch of voice. In the cases of working pregnant women such as singers, teachers or public speakers, low pitched voice condition may affect their work and quality of life. In such cases, they are recommended for treatment or voice therapy.
