Okay Mr. Dad, pop quiz; your newborn baby seems to have a bad case of eczema and your breastfeeding mom is probably pretty concerned about it - what do you do? Make mom laugh. Tickle her. Do some prat-falls. Pull out all the stops, if you get tired rent her favorite funny movies. I’m not making this up, no sir. Now - go, go, go.

…he showed breastfeeding mothers either a feature length Charlie Chaplin movie or bland footage of weather information, and took samples of breast milk at regular intervals afterwards. Two milk feeds later, he also measured their babies’ allergic reactions to dust mites and latex. Those infants whose mothers had laughed had markedly reduced reactions (Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol 62, p 699).”

“…Kimata also found significantly higher levels of melatonin in the laughing mothers’ milk. The hormone is associated with relaxation, and levels are reduced in people with eczema.” ~ NewScientist.Com

Now go put on your best funny face and make the woman giggle. Come on, do it for the children. And for heaven’s sake, shut off the weather channel.

(Via NewScientist.Com)