|
Researchers at Columbia University, expressing
surprise at their own findings, are reporting that women at
an in vitro fertilization clinic in Korea had a higher pregnancy
rate when, unknown to the patients,
total strangers were asked to pray for their
success.
The researchers
found that women who were prayed for became pregnant twice
as often as those who did not have people praying for them.
The lead author of the report, Dr. Rogerio
A. Lobo, Columbia's chairman of obstetrics and gynecology,
said he and his colleagues had thought long and hard about
whether to publish their findings, since they seemed so improbable.
In the end, the differing pregnancy rates between the two
groups of women proved too significant to ignore.
"It was not even something that was
borderline significant," Dr. Lobo said. "It was
highly significant.
And still I am not willing to say that this is the definitive
answer, that there is definitely an association."
The researchers gave members of different
Christian denominations in the United States, Canada and Australia
photographs of the patients and asked them to pray. One group
was asked to pray directly on behalf of the women, a second
group directed its prayers to help the first group, and a
third prayed for the two other groups.
Earlier studies suggested that prayer
by strangers also seemed to help heart patients.
Journal of
Reproductive Health October 2001
| 