Fertility has a whole language of its own which can be daunting when you’re starting your fertility journey or beginning IVF. There are many abbreviations and acronyms, I liken it to understanding my teenagers texts to me, I often find myself googling what they hell they mean! It can feel like some secret club that you don’t yet belong to, but don’t worry before long it will feel totally natural. Much like learning to ride a bike.
Here’s an alphabetical list of the most commonly use terms to help you navigate when talking on forums or to help when talking to other friends that are also going through infertility.
2WW: 2 week wait (the often challenging time between ovulation if you are TTC naturally – or embryo transfer if you are undergoing IVF – and your pregnancy outcome)
AC: Assisted Conception
AF: Aunt Flow (period or menstruation)
AO: Anovulatory (this means no ovulation is occurring)
ART: Assisted Reproductive Technology
BBT: Basal Body Temperature (the lowest body temperature reached during rest or sleep)
BCP: Birth Control Pills
BD: Baby Dance (A playful way to describe sex)
Beta: hCG pregnancy blood test
BFN: Big Fat Negative (a negative pregnancy test outcome)
BFP: Big Fat Positive (a positive pregnancy test outcome)
BMS: Baby Making Sex
BW: Blood Wrk
C#: Cycle number
CD: Cycle Day (which day you’re up to in your menstrual cycle)
Clomid: A medication used to jumpstart ovulation
CM: Cervical Mucus
CP: Cervical Position
DD: Dear Daughter
DE: Donor Egg
DH: Dear Husband
DP: Dear Partner
DPO: Days Post-Ovulation
DPR: Days Post-Retrieval
DPT: Days Post-Transfer
DS: Dear Son
DS: Donor Sperm
Dx: Diagnosis
ED: Egg Donor
EDD: Estimated due date
Endo: Endometriosis
EPT: Early Pregnancy Test
EPU: Egg Pick-Up (procedure to collect eggs from the ovaries – also called OPU)
ET: Embryo Transfer
EWCM: Egg White Cervical Mucus (fertile cervical mucus)
FET: Frozen Embryo Transfer
FET: Fresh Embryo Transfer
FF: Fertility Friend
FP: Follicular Phase (the part of the monthly cycle before ovulation)
FS: Frozen Sperm
FS: Fertility Specialist
FSA: Fertility Society of Australia
FSH: Follicle Stimulating Hormone (helps control the menstrual cycle and production of eggs by the ovaries)
GnRH: Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (a hormone responsible for triggering the release of FSH)
HcG: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hormone detected by pregnancy tests)
HPT: Home Pregnancy Test
HSG: Hysterosalpingogram (a fertility test where fluid is run through the fallopian tubes to check for blockages)
IC: Intercourse
ICSI: Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (a type of Assisted Reproductive Technology)
IMSI: Intracytoplasminc Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection (a type of Assisted Reproductive Technology)
IUI: Intrauterine Insemination
IVF: In Vitro Fertilization
LH: Luteinizing Hormone (a hormone that triggers ovulation)
LO: Little One
LO: Left Ovary
LP: Luteal Phase (basically the 2 week wait)
LSP: Low Sperm Count
MESA: Microsurgical Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (a procedure to retrieve sperm directly from the epididymal tubule)
MF: Male Factor infertility
M/C: Miscarriage
OB, OB/GYN: Obsetrician/Gynecologist
OHSS: Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome
OI: Ovulation Induction
OPK: Ovulation Prediction Kit
OPU: Oocyte Pick-Up (procedure to collect eggs from the ovaries also called EPU)
OT: Ovulation Tracking
OV: Oocyte Vitrification (snap freezing eggs)
OW: Oocyte Warming (thawing eggs to fertilise)
PCO: Polycystic Ovaries
PCOS: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (a condition where follicles in a woman’s ovaries stall during development and form cysts instead of releasing an egg)
PESA: Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (a technique used to extract sperm when the man has a blockage of the vas deferens)
PGD: Pre-implanatation Genetic Diagnosis
PICSI: Physiological Intracytoplasmic Sperm (a technique used in ICSI to help select the healthiest sperm) sometimes called HAICSI
POAS: Pee On a stick
RO: Right Ovary
SA: Sperm/Semen Analysis
SD: Sperm Donor
SIUI: Stimulated IUI (like IUI but given medications (FSH) to increase the response of the ovaries to produce a follicle)
SURR: Surrogate
TD: Treatment Day (referring to what day in the IVF treatment you are)
TB: Testicular Biopsy
TESE: Testicular Sperm Extraction
TTC: Trying To Conceive
Trigger: hCG shot given to induce ovulation
TSH: Thyroid Stimulating Hormone
Tx: Treatment
WFP: Wait for period
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