English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips > 每日播报

Clown humor is linked to IVF success

[ 2011-01-14 11:23]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

进入英语学习论坛下载音频 去听写专区一展身手

Is laughter the best medicine? Perhaps not always - but it may help women who are trying to become pregnant through in-vitro fertilization (IVF), an Israeli study found.

In a study of 219 women undergoing IVF published in Fertility and Sterility, an Israeli team led by Shevach Friedler found that the odds of success were greater among women who were entertained by a professional "medical clown" just after the embryos were transferred to their wombs.

Overall, 36 percent became pregnant, as compared to 20 percent of women who'd had a comedy-free recovery after the transfer procedure. Friedler said he got the idea for the study after reading about the potential physiological impact of laughter as a "natural anti-stress mechanism".

"Patients suffering from infertility undergoing IVF are incredibly stressed," said Friedler, who is based at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Zrifin, Israel, in an e-mail to Reuters Health. "So I thought that this intervention could be beneficial for them at the crucial moments after embryo transfer."

To test the idea, the research team had a medical clown visit their fertility clinic 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 - and a colleague.

The researchers found that, compared to women who came to the clinic on a "non-clown" day, those who'd had a laugh were more than 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.

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.

So-called clown care has long been used at medical centers 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".

Questions:

1. How many woman were involved in the study?

2. Where did the study take place?

3. What percentage became pregnant?

Answers:

1. 219.

2. Israel.

3. 36 percent.

去听写专区一展身手

(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)

Clown humor is linked to IVF success

About the broadcaster:

Clown humor is linked to IVF success

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn