Talk about a silly study. Women who have had trouble getting pregnant and have resorted to using in vitro fertilization can increase their chances of conception by spending just 15 minutes with a “medical clown.” Yeah. A medical CLOWN. Researchers studied 229 Israeli women undergoing IVF and found that those who spent a 1/4 of an hour with Bozo had a success rate of 36 percent, compared to just 20 percent of those who didn’t visit the circus (I kid). So what in the name of Barnum & Bailey is a medical clown? Apparently, you can only get a degree in this specialty in Israel, but practitioners take courses in nursing and focus on distracting patients from pain or stress using humor. This particular study likely proves that “reduced stress, caused by laughter, could increase the chance that the injected embryo will successfully make its way into the womb.” Or, um, maybe the embryo has read Stephen King’s IT one too many times? [NY Daily News]
