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- Breastfeeding
and the Voice
- By Kate Emerich, B.M.,
M.S., CCC-SLP
- Voice Pathologist/Vocologist,
Singing Voice Specialist
- Gould Voice Center
- Editor's note:
OperaMom is deeply grateful to Ms. Emerich for
her willingness to assist singers by contributing
this information.
| After delivering
your baby, you may have the option of
breastfeeding. As a singer, there are a
few hormonal changes stimulated by
breastfeeding that you should know about.
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| While you are breastfeeding,
your body still considers itself pregnant
by the hormonal changes that take place.
Following childbirth, large amounts of
the hormone prolactin, responsible for
stimulating the production of breast
milk, are produced in the mother. In
addition, prolactin interferes in the
action of the follicle stimulating
hormone (FSH) and the luteinising hormone
(LH). The prolactin interference of the
action between FSH and LH ultimately
reduces the amount of estrogen you
produce (acting as a natural
contraceptive as long as breastfeeding is
fulltime, the baby is less than 6-months
old, and menstruation has not returned!)1 Just as in your
regular monthly menstrual cycle, changes
to your voice are more likely to occur
during a drop in estrogen. Voice changes
typical to this low estrogen level
include voice breaks, difficulty with
smooth register transitions, breathiness,
weakness, an inability to phonate on
certain pitches, a lack of flexibility or
inability to sing certain scales and/or
arpeggios quickly and easily; and an
inability to adequately support tones.
Just as some women prefer not to perform
extensively during the pre-menstrual
phase of their cycle, they may want to
consider being conservative with
performing while breast feeding. The
hormone-related changes will disappear
after breastfeeding ceases.2
Not all
women experience voice changes during
their regular menstrual cycle and may not
experience these changes while
breastfeeding. However, if you do notice
your voice is markedly different during
the pre-menstrual period, you are
probably most likely to experience voice
changes during breastfeeding.
There are
many positive reasons to breastfeed. The
natural bonding that takes place between
mother and child, the nutritional and
protective devices for the child’s
health and immune responses, and reduced
stress levels in the mother through the
increase in the hormone oxytocin (actually
lowers blood pressure) can reduce anxiety.3
The other
consideration regarding singing
professionally and breastfeeding is your
performance schedule. Does your schedule
allow for breastfeeding? Can you bring
your child with you? Can you pump enough
ahead of time to have someone else feed
the child? Weigh the pros and cons and
choose what’s better for you and
your child.
Click here for
"Pregnancy and the Voice" Click here for "The Pill and the Voice"
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References
- Web
article “NFPS-50 Breast-Feeding”
Renfrew, M; Fisher, C; and Arms,
S. "Breastfeeding”,
Celestial Arts, 1990.
- Sataloff
RT, Emerich KA, Hoover CA. “Endocrine
dysfunction” In: Sataloff,
RT ed. Professional Voice: The
Science and Art of Clinical Care,
Singular Publishing Group, Inc.,
1997, pp.293-295.
- Web
article “APS MEETING: Breast-Feeding
Hormone Lowers Nursing Mom’s
Blood Pressure, Consulting Group
Inc. Copyright© 1999.
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- Kate Emerich, B.M., M.S., CCC-SLP
Voice Pathologist and Singing Voice Specialist at the Wilbur James Gould Voice Center, a Division of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and site for the National Center for Voice and Speech, has worked extensively with healthy and injured voices, specializing in the care of the injured speaking and singing voice. She completed a degree in vocal performance before completing her master's degree in communicative disorders at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and continues to sing professionally. She spent l993-l998 working with Drs. Robert T. Sataloff, Joseph R. Spiegel, and Karen M. Lyons in Philadelphia in a private practice specializing in care of the professional voice. Kate has published numerous articles regarding voice and singing voice issues and lectures frequently to young singers on the care of the voice and prevention of voice problems. She is an internationally recognized clinician in the area of voice disorders.
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