即使怀孕也不停止歌唱，碧昂斯是怎么做到的
本月初，碧昂斯(Beyoncé)在第59届格莱美颁奖典礼上看似轻松的表演其实非同凡响，因为她怀着一对双胞胎(她原计划在4月份的科切拉音乐节[Coachella]上亮相，但周四按照医嘱取消了)。
Because pregnancy can make it harder to talk, let alone belt out a tune. “It’s unfair, but it is temporary,” said Dr. Anthony Jahn, the medical director at the Metropolitan Opera.
怀孕会让说话更困难，更别提唱歌了。“的确不公平，但那是暂时的，”纽约大都会歌剧院(Metropolitan Opera)的医务总监安东尼·雅恩(Anthony Jahn)说。
Growing babies crowd the lungs and diaphragm, and the flood of estrogen and other hormones that comes with pregnancy can make vocal cords swell and vibrate differently. More effort is necessary, too. Expectant women have to exhale with added force to get vocal cords to vibrate and get the sound out.
逐渐变大的胎儿会挤压肺部和横膈膜，雌激素等因怀孕而产生的激素会令声带的膨胀和震动发生变化。另外还需要更多努力。孕妇必须格外用力呼气，才能让声带震动，发出声音。
So singers with a baby or two on the way often have to rethink how they breathe. Breathing deep into the abdomen is typically considered to be the most efficient way to perform, said Dr. Jahn, a Manhattan otolaryngologist at Mount Sinai West, but singers who are pregnant may have to switch to chest breathing, which is “less effective, more labor intensive and more fatiguing.”
所以，怀着一两个孩子的歌手通常需要重新考虑如何呼吸。作为曼哈顿西奈山西医疗中心(Mount Sinai West)耳鼻喉科专家的雅恩表示，腹式呼吸通常被认为是最有效的演唱方式，但怀孕的歌手可能必须切换成胸式呼吸，后者“效果更差，更费力，更累人”。
Still, he said, “singers with Beyoncé’s talent and ability have great vocal reserves and the musical intelligence to compensate for these temporary limitations and still deliver a great performance.”
不过他说，“像碧昂斯这样有天分和能力的歌手拥有很强的声乐储备和音乐才能，能弥补这些暂时的局限，依然唱得很好。”
On stage at the Grammys, Beyoncé appeared to be breathing strategically. “Since her babies are under her lungs she can’t expand down, so she expands her lungs out,” on the sides, said Adrienne B. Hancock, an associate professor in the department of speech and hearing sciences at the George Washington University. “Her power and control is off the charts.”
在格莱美的舞台上，碧昂斯呼吸得很巧妙。乔治·华盛顿大学(George Washington University)的言语和听力科学系副教授阿德里安·B·汉考克(Adrienne B. Hancock)说，“因为两个孩子在肺下面，所以她不能向下用力，只能把肺向两边扩展。她的力量和控制力非同凡响。”
Asked at the Grammys what it’s like to sing with twins on board, Celine Dion, who had twin boys in 2010, exclaimed, “Whoa.” Then she told reporters that when she performed while pregnant she was 65 pounds larger and scared to move. But she said of Beyoncé, “She’s a trouper. If somebody can do it, she can.”
在格莱美颁奖典礼上，当席琳·迪翁(Celine Dion)被问及怀着双胞胎唱歌是什么感觉时——她曾于2010年怀过一对双胞胎男孩——她感叹道：“哇唔。”然后，她对记者们说，她怀孕期间表演时，比平常重了65磅，不敢走动。但她说碧昂斯“是老手了。只要有人能做到，她就能做到。”
Usually a jellylike layer enables the surface of the vocal cords, the folds of mucous membrane and muscle that stretch within the voice box, or larynx, to vibrate, said Dr. Paul E. Kwak, a laryngologist at New York University’s Langone Voice Center.
纽约大学(New York University)兰贡人声中心(Langone Voice Center)的喉科医生保罗·E·郭(Paul E. Kwak)表示，通常，一个果冻样表层让声带表面、黏膜的褶皱以及喉部拉伸的肌肉震动。
That layer, called the superficial lamina propria, is full of blood vessels that can become engorged during pregnancy, causing the surface to thicken and grow sluggish. Making sounds requires extra energy and breath.
这个表层名叫表皮固有层，它布满血管，怀孕期间会膨胀，导致声带表面增厚、变迟钝。发声需要更多的能量和呼吸。
It’s a double whammy. “The breath is shallower and the tissue is thicker, so it vibrates less easily,” Dr. Kwak said.
这是一个双重打击。“呼吸更浅，软组织更厚，所以振动起来更不容易，”郭说。
That reduced flexibility can make it trickier to hit high notes, so some pregnant singers avoid them altogether. But Beyoncé persisted.
那会降低灵活性，飙高音更难，所以有些怀孕歌手避免唱高音。但是碧昂斯还是坚持唱了。
A common worry is that the voice will crack, which can be embarrassing, Dr. Hancock said. Another concern is that “blood vessels are so fragile during pregnancy, you could burst one, and have a little hemorrhage.” If that occurs, complete vocal rest, including no talking, is required.
汉考克说，一个常见的担忧是声音会破，那就尴尬了。另一个担忧是“怀孕期间血管很脆，可能会破，导致轻微出血”。如果出现那种情况，嗓子就需要彻底休息，包括不要说话。
Not every singer experiences vocal changes during pregnancy. “It’s highly individual,” said Aaron Johnson, a speech-language pathologist also at N.Y.U.’s voice center.
不是每位歌手都会在怀孕期间出现嗓音改变。“它的个体差异很大，”纽约大学兰贡人声中心的言语病理学家阿伦·约翰逊(Aaron Johnson)说。
Actually, one of Dr. Kwak’s patients, an opera singer, has not noticed any difference in vocal quality while pregnant. “She’s been able to keep her range,” he said, though she “has noticed limitations in the length of the breaths she is able to take.”
实际上，郭的一位歌剧演员病人在怀孕期间没有发现音质出现任何变化。他说，“她仍能演唱所有的音域，”虽然她“注意到自己的呼吸长度出现局限”。
Acid reflux, a common plague in pregnancy, can also make singing painful, because stomach acid can well up and irritate the throat and drip down onto the voice box. “It’s like having heartburn in your throat,” Dr. Johnson said. “The tissue is raw, possibly swollen, making it more difficult to get the voice out.”
胃酸反流在怀孕期间经常出现，它也会导致演唱时的痛苦，因为胃酸可能会反流上来，刺激嗓子，滴入喉部。“嗓子就会灼热，”约翰逊说，“软组织变得粗糙肿大，更难发声。”
Hormonal changes, not just during pregnancy but during the monthly cycle and throughout the life span, further complicate the picture. The days leading up to a singer’s period can impact her voice. “The most difficult time is the week before your period, when you retain excess fluid,” said Dr. Jahn, who has worked with a variety of professional singers. “The voice may lose color and clarity, and singers often have difficulty singing softly in their higher range.”
激素变化让情况更加复杂——不只是在怀孕期间，也包括月经和整个一生之中。月经之前的几天，歌手的嗓音可能会受到影响。“最艰难的时刻是在月经前一周，体内保持大量水分，”雅恩说。他曾为各种职业歌手提供咨询。“音色和声音的清晰度会受到影响，歌手们往往很难柔和地演唱高音域。”
Dr. Johnson’s lab is researching how menopause affects the voice. In menopause, estrogen levels plummet as levels of androgens, male sex hormones, rise, which can lead to swollen vocal cords. A result may be a deeper voice for some women.
约翰逊的实验室正在研究更年期对嗓音的影响。在更年期，雌性激素骤降，雄性激素上升，声带会肿大。有些女性的声音会变得更低沉。
Those kinds of changes can also affect a pregnant woman if she breast-feeds after giving birth. “Until you stop lactating, you usually don’t resume your periods,” Dr. Jahn said, so you “are in a sort of temporary mini-menopause from the vocal point of view.”
那种变化也可能影响孕妇——如果她在产后母乳喂养的话。雅恩说，“哺乳期间通常不会来月经，”所以，“从嗓音角度讲，你处于一种暂时性的迷你更年期。”
Thanks a lot, Mother Nature.
谢谢你了，大自然母亲。
