Glossary of Common Fertility Terms and Abbreviations

You've made the decision to have a baby. Some can argue that's the easiest part. You want a baby and you want it now but one or two months go by and you still aren't pregnant. There are many resources on the internet that you can use to assist you in trying to conceive. At first glance though, you have no idea what they are talking about. There are some terms that are used in the forums and websites that you will need to muddle through.

Glossary of common fertility terms and abbreviations

TTC - Trying to Conceive
BD - Baby Dance - Intercourse
POAS - Pee on a stick - Take a home pregnancy test
DTD - Do the deed - Intercourse
BFP - Big Fat Positive - meaning a positive pregnancy test
BFN - Big Fat Negative - meaning a negative pregnancy test
DPO - Days Past Ovulation - used to keep track of the days of the luteal phase.
BBT - Basal Body Temperature - This is a natural family planning method. It is a method of charting your temperature to identify if/when ovulation occurs.
OPK - Ovulation Predictor Kits - These are test strips you can by at a pharmacy that you use to determine when you are about to ovulate. Unlike home pregnancy tests, the 2^nd line must be the same color or darker than the control line to be considered a positive.
HPT - Home Pregnancy Test - The appearance of a second line indicates pregnancy.
Evap - Evaporation Line ­- if you read a HPT after the time limit a small line may have formed. It is generally gray, shadowy or an indentation. This is not a positive result. It is merely the result of the test drying over where the positive strip would have been.
CD - Cycle Day - indicates what cycle day you are currently on. CD 1 is the first day of your period.
AF - Aunt Flo - Your period. Menstruation. The enemy of all TTCers.
CM - Cervical Mucus - Every woman produces cervical mucus. It is a discharge that can vary throughout the cycle. It can be tacky, sticky, egg white, and lotion like. It can be clear, white, and sometimes yellow tinged.
EWCM - Egg White Cervial Mucus - spinbarkeit. The increase in estrogen around ovulation causes a female's body to produce an abundant amount of cervical mucus. This creates a sperm friendly environment that is ideal for conception.
SHOW - Soft High Open Wet - At ovulation, your cervix will rise to a high position. It will feel soft to touch (like your lips) and the opening will slightly open. Wet indicates an increase in EWCM.
CP - Cervical Position - A woman's cervix can be used to help identify your current fertility. Throughout your cycle your cervix moves. When it is low and hard, that indicates infertility. When it goes SHOW, this indicates that you are currently fertile. Checking your CP can be confusing. Make sure you do your research before venturing there.
LH - Luteinizing Hormone - This is the hormone that surges causing ovulation. It is what OPKs check for.
HCG - Human Chorianic Gonadotropin - This hormone is what a HPT tests for. It is the pregnancy hormone.
Luteal Phase - Every woman has a consistent period of time between ovulation and af. This is identified as your luteal phase.
LPD - Luteal Phase Defect - if the luteal phase is less than 11 days it may indicate a luteal phase defect. This means there isn't enough time between ovulation and your period for the egg to implant.