From Black History month to Valentine’s Day, there is much to celebrate in February. We at Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility invite you to celebrate one more extraordinary day with us on February 21st, International Mother Language Day. Though Mother’s Day isn’t until May, International Mother Language Day, declared official by the United Nations in 1999, seeks to honor the diversity of language and our ability to connect through speech with strangers and loved ones alike.

This holiday began following a political and cultural divide in Pakistan in 1947 in which borders drawn between East and West Pakistan threatened the erasure of the Bangla language, which had been the primary language spoken by the population of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to this point. With the Pakistani government enforcing a mandatory change to the Urdu language, many brave protesters, including students from the University of Dhaka, united to stand up to this forced eradication of their culture and language. Five of these protesters were tragically killed on February 21st, 1952. This holiday, intended to bring awareness to the gradual extinction of lesser-used languages, honors the lives of those lost on February 21st and the importance of language in all our lives.

How Language Connects us as a Global Community 

We know that language is integral to culture from generation to generation. From the bedtime stories we learn as children to hearing our grandparents’ experiences from 50 years ago, language unites us and allows us to see the world from another person’s perspective. 

With an ever-evolving global community, we’ve witnessed a merging of cultures within neighborhoods and individual families. Many children will grow up with two cultural backgrounds and may speak one language within their house and another in the broader world. According to data collected in the US census, the rate of bilingual children in the United States has doubled in the last 30 years:

• 1980: 10.68% 
• 2018: 20.55%.

Though this rate is high, it pales compared to countries like Switzerland, whose population, according to Psychology Today, includes 42%, bilingual citizens. In a world more connected than ever through technological advances like social media, language plays an ever-more vital role in our lives and understanding of cultural backgrounds.

We also recognize that verbal language isn’t the only form of communication that should get celebrated on a day like International Mother Language Day. Many people worldwide use sign language as their primary means of communication. As you look towards parenthood yourself, you may have noticed a rise in the number of parents choosing to instruct their children in sign language at a young age. Research has shown that allowing a child to express themselves physically before verbal speech has developed can reduce stress and tantrums when the frustration of an inability to express a need is alleviated by being able to communicate it manually. 

On the topic of non-verbal communication, paralanguage is how we communicate through our vocal pitch, body language, and sounds. Though there is a great deal of global overlap and commonality between these paralanguage indicators, many of the ways we communicate nonverbally are culturally dependent and learned behaviors.

Infertility Patterns in Certain Ethnic Groups

When examining the various cultures that can make up a single household or a child’s community, it is essential to recognize that infertility can affect people of one ethnic background differently. Research has proven that African American females, on average, are less likely to be correctly diagnosed with endometriosis than their white female counterparts. Certain medical conditions lead to infertility that proportionally affect more ethnic groups than others, including polycystic ovary syndrome and tubal factor infertility, among other causation factors. Studies show that birth rates among females who have undergone IVF treatment vary widely between nationalities. In one study conducted in the United Kingdom, Black African females had lower odds of live birth following IVF than Black Caribbean women. However, these differences in birth rates and health diagnoses may be more concerned with environmental factors such as socio-economic status and access to affordable healthcare. 

Our staff at Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility strives to be one of the best fertility clinics in the United States by making our treatments accessible and affordable to aspiring parents from all walks of life. We recognize that many people may feel that treating their fertility issues may be out of their means. Yet, we strive to work with you to provide a reliable estimate of the costs involved in the process, ensuring we only recommend the procedures you need – not what benefits us the most.

The Development of Language

Though the stages of language development vary widely from child to child, on average, babies will begin formulating their first articulate sounds and eventual first words from about 6-11 months, according to Stanford’s Children’s Health. Children ages 12 to 17 months will develop a vocabulary of between four to six words, through which they can begin labeling and describing the world around them. These are the stages of development that every parent eagerly awaits, hoping to get an insight into how their children see the world around them. Our staff at Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility believe that every loving person aspiring to be a parent should have the opportunity to witness these stages of development in their babies joyfully.

Keep in Touch

We would love to have you stay in touch with us at Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility so that we can show you why our clients feel we are one of the best fertility clinics in the United States.

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