The Birth Process and Voice Training: The Glorious Chorus: A Qualitative Pilot Inquiry

This study is a qualitative pilot inquiry that explores the relationship between voice methods for performance and childbirth. The authors are trained actors, and during their labor processes, they each found themselves relying on the vocal work they had learned in their acting training. This experience encouraged the authors to explore their own experiences and initiate this study. The central questions were: Had other mothers with similar backgrounds used voice training within the context of birth? What might vocal work offer to a laboring woman that is unique? What insights might childbirth professionals offer on the relationship between breath, voice, and birth? The authors interviewed actor-mothers, birthing professionals, and childbirth educators and used this qualitative data, along with the author’s experiences and research literature to create early themes that reflect on the research questions. The data suggests that actor-mothers benefitted during childbirth from their exposure to vocal work, and recommendations for further studies are offered.