ISRAEL: Medical clown can help you get pregnant/Medical research finds that laughter significantly increases success rate in In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment

Record ID: 396112

  • Title: ISRAEL: Medical clown can help you get pregnant/Medical research finds that laughter significantly increases success rate in In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment
  • Date: 29th March 2011
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) MEDICAL CLOWN SHLOMI ALGUSI SAYING: "I'm surprised. Honestly, I didn't see it coming, seriously, I didn't expect this. I thought that I was going to make (people) laugh, to have fun. And if it's fun then it's comfortable and doesn't hurt as much (for the patient) and not as stressful. So she feels nicer and I feel nicer and I can go back home after doi
  • Embargoed: 13th April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel, Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Health,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA539C6M5YMXTE13B88XRKUBPC1
  • Story Text: An Israeli medical study may have confirmed that laughter really is the best medicine, especially when it comes to getting pregnant.
    Women undergoing In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment who are entertained by a professional 'medical clown' just after the embryos were transferred to their wombs, were found to have greater chances of successful implantation.
    The research, led by Professor Shevach Friedler of the Unit of Fertility and IVF in Assaf Harofe Medical Centre, found that overall, 36 percent of the women who had interaction with the professional clown became pregnant, compared to 20 percent of women who'd had a comedy-free recovery after the transfer procedure. The study, looking at 219 women undergoing IVF treatment, is to be published in the Fertility and Sterility journal.
    Friedler said he got the idea for the study after reading about the potential physiological impact of laugher as a "natural anti-stress mechanism".
    "Naturally I thought why not to use laughter, which is a very cheap intervention, and to use this powerful tool to ease the big stress that our patients are in. And I chose the moment -- and perhaps it was a good guess -- to make this intervention immediately after embryo transfer," Friedler said.
    The research team had a medical clown visit their fertility clinic, based in Assaf Harofe Medical Centre near the Israeli town of Ramle, periodically over one year. Of the 219 women in the study, half underwent embryo transfer on a day the clown was at the clinic.
    During recovery from the procedure, each woman had a 15-minute visit from the clown, who performed a specific routine created by Friedler who has studied movement and mime.
    The study team found that, compared to women who came to the clinic on a "non-clown" day, those who'd had a laugh were nearly twice as likely to become pregnant, when other factors such as age, type of infertility and the number of embryos transferred, were taken into account.
    "To our amazement, and actually in a second thought it was quite logical, we found that this intervention actually increase significantly the implantation rate," he added.
    Friedler said more studies were needed to see if other stress-reducing techniques might be useful, noting that it wasn't clear if the clown intervention had actually worked to curb stress. Researchers also don't know what role emotional stress might play in IVF success but Friedler pointed out that research shows that the levels stress of women undergoing IVF treatments equals the levels of stress in patients with potentially fatal cancers.
    So-called "clown care" has long been used at medical centres in Israel, the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia, usually in children's hospitals. Israel's University of Haifa also recently launched a degree program in "medical clowning".
    Interaction with a medical clown, said Friedler, is more effective than other, more passive kinds of comedy. But with one-on-one interaction, the character of the clown should fit the target audience, Friedler added.
    "We had to find, it wasn't easy, to find the correct personage of the clown. For instance, the red nose clown does not work. It does not work for women in fertility age," he said.
    Shlomi Algusi, the medical clown who took part in Friedler's research, said he had yet to realise the full extent of his part in creating new life.
    "I'm surprised. Honestly, I didn't see it coming, seriously, I didn't expect this. I thought that I was going to make (people) laugh, to have fun. And if it's fun then it's comfortable and doesn't hurt as much (for the patient) and not as stressful. So she feels nicer and I feel nicer and I can go back home after doing something wonderful -- making people laugh -- which is my job. And then it happened and women brought children into this world and it made me happy... I honestly can't even grasp it, I can't even believe that it's actually happening," he told Reuters after entertaining another patient.
    The female patient herself, asking to remain anonymous, expressed hope that the comic relief would actually help her get pregnant.
    "He walked in and as much as I felt pain after leaving there (treatment room), everything just faded and he really relieved all the pressure and was very useful for me. I hope it will help in the future," she said.
    Friedler told Reuters that the reactions he is getting from his patients are great, and added that he hopes for studies at other centres to back up his findings and encourage fertility clinics elsewhere to use the tactic.
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