Pisanski et al 2018 EHB acceoted version SRO.pdf (557.6 kB)
Women’s voice pitch lowers after pregnancy
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 12:49 authored by Katarzyna Pisanski, Kavya Bhardwaj, David RebyWomen’s voice pitch (the perceptual correlate of fundamental frequency, F0) varies across the menstrual cycle and lowers after menopause, and may represent a putative signal of women’s fertility and reproductive age. Yet, despite dramatic changes in women’s sex hormone levels and bodies during and after pregnancy, previous between-subject and case studies have not found systematic changes in F0 due to pregnancy. Here, we tracked within-individual variation in 20 mothers’ voices during their first pregnancy, as well as up to 5 years before conception and 5 years postpartum. Voice recordings from 20 age-matched nulliparous women were measured as a control. Linear Mixed Models indicated that F0 mean, range and variation changed significantly following pregnancy in mothers, controlling for age at time of recording, whereas we did not observe any F0 changes across corresponding timeframes in our sample of nulliparous controls. Mothers’ voices became significantly lower-pitched and more monotonous during the first year postpartum compared to during pregnancy or before. These F0 parameters did not decrease within-individuals over a 5-year period prior to conception above and beyond the effects of ageing. Although voice pitch decreased following pregnancy, mothers’ F0 parameters reverted after the first year postpartum, approaching pre-pregnancy levels. Our results demonstrate that pregnancy has a transient and perceptually salient masculinizing effect on women’s voices.
Funding
Faking it: The production, perception, and function of social voice modulation; G1812; EUROPEAN UNION; 655859
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Evolution and Human BehaviorISSN
1090_5138Publisher
ElsevierIssue
4Volume
39Page range
457-463Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2018-04-11First Open Access (FOA) Date
2019-04-12First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2018-04-11Usage metrics
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