A lifetime of professional singing: Voice parameters and age in the Netherlands Radio Choir.

In professional choirs one would like to identify the incidence and severity of vocal problems due to ageing, and know how to influence them. The aim of the current study was to investigate to what extent easily obtainable voice parameters were age-related. From 47 singers of the Netherlands Radio Choir the Voice Range Profile parameters and the vibrato characteristics were measured.

Stage fright in singers: three reaction types.

Drawing on both my own personal experience and that of many colleagues and pupils, I shall describe three kinds of reactions to stage fright. The first is the primarily mental reaction of derealization, which involves feeling cut off from fear and decreasing body awareness. The second and third reactions to stage fright involve (a) increased and (b) decreased muscle tonus and their associated breathing patterns.

Outcome of planned home and planned hospital births in low risk pregnancies: prospective study in midwifery practices in The Netherlands.

Objective: To investigate the relation between the intended place of birth (home or hospital) and perinatal outcome in women with low risk pregnancies after controlling for parity and social, medical, and obstetric background.

Design: Analysis of prospective data from midwives and their clients.

Setting: 54 midwifery practices in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands.

An approach to measuring quality of midwifery care.

In perinatology "Outcome" is almost always defined in terms of mortality or serious morbidity. Evaluation of care for normal pregnancy and midwifery care in particular cannot rely only on outcome measures per se, but must also take the means and interventions by which these are achieved into account. Perinatal Background and Perinatal Outcome Indexes were developed for the assessment of midwifery care in women with low-risk pregnancies.

Neonatal neurological outcome after low-risk pregnancies.

Objectives: To study neonatal neurological outcome and obstetrical interventions in a low-risk population.

Study Design: A prospective non-randomised study.

Setting: Six midwife practices, nine general practices in and around the city of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and the obstetrical service at the Nijmegen University Hospital.