Fertility Lingua Franca
If you are trying to conceive (TTC) or dealing with infertility, you have likely perused online forums, blogs, and scholarly articles trying to fill the gap in information from your healthcare providers. The fertility community has developed its own lingua franca (link language) to communicate with others going through the same travail. It is not uncommon to come across a post on social media with so many acronyms that it feels like reading a hieroglyphic text. If you are new to TTC, you may find these posts daunting, so we have created a simple guide to commonly used Acronyms to guide you in your foray into online fertility communities.
AF = Aunt Flo — Menstruation
AFC = Antral follicle count,
AH = Assistant Hatching
AMH =Anti-Mullerian Hormone; a hormone level used to predict your ovarian reserve.
AI = Artificial Insemination
ART = Assisted Reproductive Technology
Amenorrhea = The medical term for a missed menstrual cycle for more than three months in a row.
BC / BCP = Birth Control (Pills)
BBT = Basal Body Temperature – A basal thermometer chart is a way to track temperature increases after the release of an egg, allowing you to know when you’ll be the most fertile.
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BD = Big Deed/Baby Dance — AKA sex
Beta = Not really an acronym, but this is the hCG blood test taken after a fertility treatment to determine whether or not a woman is pregnant.
BFN = Big Fat Negative – A negative result on a pregnancy test
BFP = Big Fat Positive – A positive result on a pregnancy test
BPM = Beats Per Minute; referring to an embryo’s heart rate.
B/W = Bloodwork
CD = Cycle Day – The specific day of your period, with CD1 being the first day of your period.
CF = Cervical Fluid or CM for Cervical Mucus – Women can check their discharge to indicate ovulation periods. For example, when discharge changes from sticky and thick too thin and wet, that’s typically a sign you are ovulating.
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DE = Donor Eggs/Embryos – Donor eggs are taken from a fertile woman and transplanted into an infertile woman during an ART procedure.
D&C = Medical procedure performed after a miscarriage to remove tissue from the uterus.
DEIVF = Donor Egg IVF
DH = Dear Husband
DOR =Diminished Ovarian Reserve
DPO = Days Post Ovulation
DPT = Days Post-Transfer; e.g., 6dp5dt would mean 6 days post-day-5 embryo transfer.
DW = Dear Wife
E2 = Estradiol (or Estrogen); a hormone measured during fertility testing and treatment
Endo = Endometriosis, a disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside of the uterus
EDD = Estimated Due Date
EPT = Early Pregnancy Test
ER = Egg Retrieval
ET = Embryo Transfer
FET = Frozen Embryo Transfer
FMU = First Morning Urine – Your first-morning urine is known to have the highest amounts of HCG (a hormone that is created during a woman’s pregnancy) and allows for pregnancy tests to detect pregnancy sooner and more accurately versus after your first-morning pee.
FP = Follicular Phase, from CD1 until you ovulate (occurs before the Luteal Phase)
Frostie = Pet name for a frozen embryo
FSH = Follicle-Stimulating Hormone, the hormone responsible for the growth of ovarian follicles.
GP = General Practitioner
HCG = Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Hormone, also known as the “pregnancy hormone”
HPT = Home Pregnancy Test
HSG = Hysterosalpingography, an X-ray to see whether the fallopian tubes are open
ICI = Intracervical Insemination – Similar to intrauterine insemination(IUI), it involves placing sperm directly into the woman’s reproductive tract to improve the chances of pregnancy.
IF = Infertility
IUI = Intrauterine Insemination – This is when sperm are placed directly into a woman’s uterus right around the time she is ovulating in the hopes of boosting her odds of conceiving.
IVF = In Vitro Fertilization – This procedure involves removing eggs from a woman’s ovaries and fertilizing them outside her body in a laboratory setting. The resulting embryos are then transferred into the woman’s uterus through the cervix.
LH = Luteinising Hormone – OPKs measure spikes in your LH to predict when ovulation will occur
LMP = Last Menstrual Period
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)
NTNP = Not Trying Not Preventing – This term is for couples who are not using a form of birth control to prevent pregnancy from happening.
OV = Ovulation
OB = Obstetrician
OB/GYN = Obstetrician/Gynecologist
OPK = Ovulation Predictor Kit
PCOS = Polycystic Ovary Syndrome – A hormonal imbalance causing symptoms like overproduction of androgens (male hormones), irregular menstrual cycles, and/or an ultrasound demonstrating polycystic-appearing ovaries. This makes it more difficult to get pregnant.
PG = Pregnant!
P4 = Progesterone; the hormone that helps prepare the uterus for pregnancy
PNV = Prenatal Vitamins
POAS = Pee on a stick (take an at-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
SA = Sperm/Semen Analysis
SD = Sperm Donor
SHG = Saline Sonohysterogram; a diagnostic ultrasound used to detect any abnormal structures on the inside of your uterus (uterine cavity).
T3 = thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine
T4 = thyroid hormones, thyroxine
TSH = Thyroid-Stimulating Hormones
TTC = Trying To Conceive
TTCAL = Trying To Conceive After Loss
TWW/2WW = Two Week Wait – This is the two-week waiting period after taking a pregnancy test.
U/S = Ultrasound
WFP = Wait for period
WIC = Where in cycle
WTO = Waiting To Ovulate
I had my wtf appt with my RE today for an US on CD10 and i am nowhere near ovulation. CBAD OPK is showing nothing. My T3/T4/THS were all fine. Did baseline tests including HSG, SHG, semen analysis. AFC and AMH high-ish.
Did you understand any of that? The above quote, which is a compilation of comments on a post on the r/infertility forum on Reddit, can be translated literally as “I had my wtf appointment* with my Reproductive Endocrinologist today for an Ultrasound Cycle Day 10 and I am nowhere near ovulation. Clearblue® Advanced Digital Ovulation Predictor Kit is showing nothing. My triiodothyronine/thyroxine/Thyroid-Stimulating Hormones were all fine. Did baseline tests including Hysterosalpingography, Saline Sonohysterogram, semen analysis. Antral follicle count and Anti-Mullerian Hormone high-ish.”
*wtf appointment is a term coined by the fertility community to refer to the doctor’s appointment following a failed IVF. Apply called wtf because the patient does not see the usefulness of this encounter.
