Laughter promotes fertility
Sterility, infertility, and assisted reproduction treatments have been associated with high levels of stress. Humour and laughter can have a beneficial impact by reducing the negative physical and psychological effects of stress. Specifically in the field of fertility, they would promote interaction between the embryo and the endometrium, i.e. they would increase uterine receptivity. The incorporation of the ‘clown doctor’ as a complementary tool to medical treatment in different areas of medicine has been used for some time, for example, in the treatment of patients with cancer or serious or chronic diseases in both children and adults.
Research
In this regard, a study conducted at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Centre Unit in Israel, led by Dr Shevach Friedler, has recently been published.
219 patients undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment were divided into two groups. 110 of these patients received a visit from a ‘clown doctor’ (intervention group) compared to 109 who did not receive such a visit (control group).
There were no significant differences between the two groups of women in terms of age (aged between 25 and 40, with an average age of 34), education, religious affiliation, or family status.
Índice
Research
In this regard, a study conducted at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Centre Unit in Israel, led by Dr Shevach Friedler, has recently been published.
219 patients undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment were divided into two groups. 110 of these patients received a visit from a ‘clown doctor’ (intervention group) compared to 109 who did not receive such a visit (control group).
There were no significant differences between the two groups of women in terms of age (aged between 25 and 40, with an average age of 34), education, religious affiliation, or family status.
Women in the intervention group had similar rates of irregular periods, causes of infertility, and previous IVF treatments compared to the control group. Women in the intervention group had significantly more years of previous infertility.
No significant differences were observed in the type of embryos transferred (fresh vs frozen), blood hormone levels, type of medical protocol used, or the number of eggs retrieved and fertilised.
Each of the 110 patients in the intervention group was visited by a professional clown doctor immediately after embryo transfer. The visit lasted 12 to 15 minutes while the patient remained resting in her room. The routine included jokes, tricks and magic and was performed one-on-one with the ‘clown doctor’ dressed as a ‘chef’. The routine was performed in the same way during all visits. The pregnancy rate in the intervention group was 36.4%, compared to 20.2% in the control group.
Conclusions
Humour and laughter could act as a defence mechanism, reducing stress and psychological symptoms related to negative life events, improving quality of life and immune function. Interactions between hormonal and neurobiological systems can affect reproductive processes. Reciprocal interference is possible, as stress and reproduction are controlled by similar nuclei in the central nervous system.
Although the exact mechanism by which stress interferes with reproductive processes is unknown, experimental evidence increasingly indicates that the lower the stress level, the better the outcome of fertility treatment.
Dr Lydia Luque, gynaecologist at Instituto Bernabeu.