Whew, it has been a long week at DTHQ, and frankly, I was looking forward to a freakout-free weekend. But then, well, wow:
researchers who studied 219 women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) discovered that women were more likely to become pregnant if they were paid a visit by a professional "medical clown" after the procedure. [discover magazine]But wait! The study, by Shevach Friedler, was conducted at an Israeli fertility clinic, where the pregnancy rates for women who had embryo transfers on "non-clown" days was compared to the clowned women:
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 - and a colleague. [guardian]
