Women's voices get higher in pitch at most fertile point of monthly cycle, say researchers



A woman's voice tends to rise in pitch at the time of the month when she is most fertile

Whisper it softly - if you don't want to send all the eligible bachelors running for the hills.

Women speak in a higher tone of voice when at their most fertile, making them more attractive to the opposite sex, scientists have found.

Recordings made when fertility was low and again nearer ovulation showed that women's voices took on more feminine qualities as they neared their optimum time for conceiving.

Researchers made voice recordings of 69 female undergraduates and found that they spoke in a higher pitch when nearer to the time when an egg is released.

But the difference was apparent only when women spoke a simple introductory sentence such as 'hi, I'm a student at UCLA' - and not for simple vowel sounds. Dr Greg Bryant, from the University of California team that carried out the research, said: 'Our study shows women change their voice in relation to fertility - and possibly only in social communication contexts.'

He said the difference in pitch was the greatest on the two highest fertility days just before ovulation.

Dr Bryant added: 'It is feasible these changes in vocal femininity occur primarily or exclusively during social communicative tasks - raising the intriguing possibility cues of ovulation appear more during social interactions and could serve a communicative function.'

Previous research found men pick up on other, less subtle clues to a woman's fertility, such as scent and flirtatious behaviour.

There is increasing evidence that women's behaviour changes in subtle ways throughout the monthly cycle, and that men find women most attractive around the time of ovulation.

A study last year found that the earnings of lap dancers in America increased dramatically when they were most fertile - and dropped at other times of the month.

Around ovulation they earned around £34 a night in tips, compared to £25 when they were not fertile.

Other studies have shown that women are more flirtatious in the middle of their cycle, and more interested in sex.

Unlike many mammals, there are no obvious outward signs when women are fertile. Evolutionary biologists argue that women evolved "hidden ovulation" in prehistoric times as a way of tricking men into staying around for much longer.

However, the recent studies suggest that men are still able to detect when their partners are most fertile using changes in behaviour, voice, appearance or scent.

Earlier this year a study at the State University of New York found that men and women preferred female voices during the most fertile period of the month.