Womens' Voice during in-vitro fertilization treatment

This study was aimed to explore the effect of In-Vitro Fertilization treatment on acoustic properties of women's voice. To that end, ten women undergoing In-vitro fertilization treatment volunteered to participate in the study. All women were recorded repeatedly in three successive sessions, before and during treatment. In addition, hormonal assays, endometrial thickness measurements and follicular growth data were collected. Recordings were performed during sustained vowel phonation, and during a reading task. Acoustic analyses included fundamental-frequency measures, as well as frequency- and amplitude-perturbation measures. Repeated-measure analyses of variance were performed to test for treatment effect, and the correlations between the acoustic measures and the hormonal as well as endometrial thickness data were examined. Results revealed a significant reduction in the two fundamental-frequency measures and in the amplitude-perturbation measure along treatment (P<.05). In addition, prior to treatment, a negative correlation was found between F0 and estrogen levels. During treatment, however, a negative correlation was found between F0 and endometrial thickness. These findings suggest an association between In-vitro fertilization treatment and specific voice properties, supporting the effect of sex hormones on the larynx and on voice. In addition, the possibility of a ceiling effect for the influence of estrogens on female vocal folds was introduced.