Terminology Tuesdays: Laughter is the best medicine!

Photo by Stephanie Himel-Nelson

Today I discuss the effects of exposure to a clown after an embryo transfer. No, really…a real clown…doing 12-15 minutes of clowning around…including magic tricks! Yeah, I thought it was funny too but the results of a small study believe that the chances of conceiving after IVF are higher if a clown makes you laugh after the embryo transfer.

Struggling with infertility is stressful. IVF treatments are an added stress especially right after an embryo transfer. Some creative researchers in Israel performed a study where they…well, I’ll just let them describe it to you.

The study states, “The beneficial effect of humor in stress situations is well established. Humor and laughter may have an effect on the embryo-uterine interplay through neuroendocrine pathways or nonovarian stress reduction, augmenting uterine receptivity. Medical clowning uses humor as an adjunct therapeutic tool. However, it has not been explored in the context of IVF. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of medical clowning on pregnancy rates after IVF-ET (Embryo Transfer).”

Half of the women in the study were “visited by a professional medical clown immediately after embryo transfer, while lying in bed. This encounter lasted 12–15 minutes…and included jokes, tricks, and magic and was performed on a one-to-one basis with the clown dressed as a ‘chef de cuisine.’ The same clown performed the same routine at all visits.” The other half of the study women were not exposed to the clown.

The study found that the pregnancy rate in the group exposed to the clown was 36.4%, compared with 20.2% in the group that was not exposed to the clown. As expected, the improvement in success rates is attributed to the humor and laughter generated from the clowning around and not necessarily just the clown. Interestingly, the study doesn’t mention if any of the women were fearful of the clown since some women may be afraid of clowns.

Remember, this was a small study of 219 patients, so more investigation is needed. However, it is a fascinating study. Plus, laughter has no negative effects, so, it’s worth a try. That reminds me…I need to go find my clown outfit from Halloween a few years ago…I’ve got some clowning around to do for my patients!

Source: Friedler S, et al. The effect of medical clowning on pregnancy rates after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET). Fertil Steril 2011; article in press.

Dr. Lowell T. Ku, M.D. is a leading Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility specialist at Dallas IVF, one the nation’s premiere infertility centers.  Dr. Ku clarifies the many confusing terms used in the world of Infertility using straightforward explanations.