Staring down the long road of infertility is massively intimidating for many reasons. First of all, there’s the whole you-have-no-control-over-your-life-and-everything-you-thought-you’d-have-and-would-come-easily-is-nowhere-to-be-found thing. Second of all, there’s basic TTC (Trying to Conceive) vocabulary.
“Infertility” is it’s own language and getting fluent can take a while. I’ve been TTC for 3 years and I still am in the dark with some phrases or medical terms. Aside from there being an intense amount of biological and physiological information that is assumed knowledge by your OBGYN and your RE, there are SO. MANY. ACRONYMS. And unless you’re a compulsive oversharerer on Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr, chances are you don’t know your OPK from your DPO. And that? That’s a problem when trying to decipher the Infertility Code (a much more complicated puzzle to solve than the Da Vinci Code). Understanding the different tests, hormones, dates, and procedures is essential to understanding your body as well as your medical options.
So study up, young grasshopper. Below are the essentials for starting your fertility journey. If you are noticing a glaring omission, please add yours in the comments below.
AF = Aunt Flow (your period)
AMH = Anti-Mullerian Hormone; your AMH is a number reproductive endocrinologists use to assess conditions like PCOS and can also help determine a woman’s remaining egg supply
ART = Artificial Reproductive Technology
AI = Artificial Insemination
BBT = Basal Body Temperature
BC / BCP = Birth Control (Pills); this one might seem random but many women are prescribed birth control pills to quiet their ovaries after completing an egg retrieval
BD = Baby Dance; a polite way of saying “having sex”
Beta = Not really an acronym, but this is the blood test taken after a fertility treatment to determine whether or not a woman is pregnant
BFN = Big Fat Negative; getting a negative pregnancy test…
BFP = Big Fat Positive!!! The holy grail to which all TTC couples aspire…
BPM = Beats Per Minute; referring to an embryo’s heart rate
B/W = Bloodwork
CD = Cycle Day; refers to the specific day of your cycle, with CD1 being the first day of your period
CM = Cervical Mucus (Ew….)
Cyst = A thin-walled, hollow organ or cavity containing a liquid secretion
D & C = Dilation & Curettage; doctors perform this procedure after a miscarriage or abortion to clear the uterine lining
DE = Donor Eggs
DH = Dear Husband
DOR = Diminished Ovarian Reserve
DPO = Days Post Ovulation
DPT = Days Post Transfer; for example, 6dp5dt would mean 6 days post 5 day embryo transfer
DW = Dear Wife
E2 = Estradiol; a hormone measured during fertility testing and treatment
Endometriosis / Endo = A disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus
ER = Egg Retrieval
FET = Frozen Embryo Transfer
FP = Follicular Phase, from CD1 until you ovulate (occurs before the Luteal Phase)
Fibroid = A noncancerous growth in the uterus that can develop during childbearing years
FRER = First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test
Frostie = Nickname for a frozen embryo
FSH = Follicle-stimulating Hormone; a high FSH number is associated with women undergoing menopause
GP = General Practitioner
HSC = Hysteroscopy; a procedure that allows your doctor to look inside your uterus
HCG = Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Hormone; a hormone produced in your placenta after an embryo implants in the uterus, the presence of hCG is detected in home pregnancy tests
HPT = Home Pregnancy Test
HSG = Hysterosalpingogram; an x-ray of the uterus and fallopian tubes to make sure there are no obstructions or lesions
ICSI = Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection; a procedure during IVF in which eggs are directly injected with an individual sperm to increase the chances of fertilization
IF = Infertility, straight up
IVF = Invitro Fertilization
IUI = Intrauterine Insemination
LAP = Laparoscopy; a surgery using a thin tube put through an incision in the belly to look at the female pelvic organs and find problems such as cysts, adhesions, or fibroids.
LH = Luteinizing Hormone; OPKs measure spikes in your LH to predict when ovulation will soon occur
LP = Luteal Phase; the time between ovulation and menstruation (also called The Two Week Wait)
LSP = Low Sperm Count
MC = Miscarriage
MF(I) = Male Factor (Infertility
O = Ovulation
OB/GYN = Obstetrician / Gynecologist (Doctors who specialize in lady parts and pregnancy)
OPK = Ovulation Predictor Kit; stupid plastic sticks that tell you when you are ovulating
PCOS = Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; a hormonal disorder causing enlarged ovaries with small cysts on the outer edges
PG = Pregnant!
PIO = Progesterone in Oil
PNV = Prenatal Vitamins
POAS = Pee on a stick (take a home pregnancy test)
PUPO = Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise (After a fertility treatment like a Frozen Embryo Transfer, a woman is considered PUPO)
RE = Reproductive Endocrinologist (Doctors who specialize in fertility)
Resolve = National Nonprofit Organization that supports those experiencing infertility
SA = Semen Analysis
SD = Sperm Donor
SI = Secondary Infertility; the inability to become pregnant, or to carry a pregnancy to term, following the birth of one or more biological children
TCOYF = “Taking Charge of Your Fertility,” a book by Toni Weschler on fertility awareness and basically the bible for TTC
TR = Tubal Reversal
TSH = Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone;
TTC = Trying to Conceive
TWW = Two Week Wait (The seemingly endless two weeks between when you ovulate and your missed period)
U/S = Ultrasound
VR = Vasectomy Reversal
WTT = Waiting to Try (to Conceive)
Phew! Ohmigosh, are you dizzy yet? Again, please add any terms or acronyms I left out in the comments section below.
Hmmm…maybe we should turn these into flash cards…