TTC, Pregnancy and Parenting Acronyms

TTC, Preganancy & Parenting Acronym Guide and Glossary of Terms

Meanings of BD, BFP, BFN, FTM and more…

When I first started my TTC Journey I joined a few online groups of other women who were on the same path. Groups like this are a wonderful way to find support and camaraderie during what can be an emotional and lonely journey. I instantly found that I was clueless to all the acronyms and abbreviations that everyone was using in the online forums, support groups, and on social media. And there are A LOT of them!

As I subsequently joined pregnancy and parenting groups, I realized that not only are acronyms popular while TTC, but they extend into pregnancy and beyond. I have compiled a list to help you navigate them. 

AI • Artificial Insemenation

AF • Aunt Flow/Flo – Period or menstrual cycle.

AMA • Advanced Maternal Age – Refers to women 35 and over. Me, I had my babies at 40 and 45.

AMH • Anti-Müllerian Hormone 

BBT • Basal Body Temperature – Body temperature when at rest. Tracking BBT is way to determine when you have ovulated.

BBTC • Basal Body Temperature Charting

BC • Birth Control

BCP • Birth Control Pills

BD •  Baby Dance – Having sex on your most fertile days
         Baby Dust – Well wishes for conceiving a baby. I imagine it as a dusting of magical fertility glitter.

Beta • Beta Test – Aka quantitative beta hCG blood pregnancy test. Blood drawn pregnancy test

BF • Breast Fed 

BFP • Big Fat Positive – Positive pregnancy test

BFN • Big Fat Negative – Negative pregnancy test

BPM • Beats Per Minute – Used to refer to the fetal heart rate

BLW • Baby Led Weaning – Offering your baby a variety of foods and allowing them to choose from and feed themselves.

BMS • Baby Making Sex

BOB • Baby On the Brain or Baby Obsessed Brain – Thinking about having a baby constantly

BTDT • Been There Done That

BW • Blood Work

CB • Cycle Buddy – Someone who started their period the same day you did, or ovulated the same day you did

CD • Cycle Day – The days of the menstrual cycle. Followed by the number of days… CD1 = 1st day, CD5 = 5th day of cycle.

CD • Cloth Diapers or Cloth Diapering 

CIO • Cry It Out – A sleep training strategy that involves letting the baby cry while they learn to fall asleep on their own.

CF or CM • Cervical Fluid or Cervical Mucus

CL • Cover Line – A line drawn on a BBT chart

D&C • Dilation and Curettage – a surgical procedure to remove tissue from the uterus. May be performed because of abnormal vaginal bleeding, retained placenta after giving birth, or after a miscarriage or abortion. 

D&E • Dilation and Evacuation –   

DD • Dear/Daring Daughter

DH • Dear/Darling Husband

DP • Dear/Darling Partner

DPO • Days Past Ovulation – Preceded by the number of days. 4DPO = 4 days past ovulation

DPT • Days Past Transfer

DS • Dear/Darling Son

DTD • Do The Deed – Have sex.

Dx • Diagnosis

E2 • Estradiol – Your level of estrogen

EBF • Exclusively Breast Fed

ECP • Emergency Contraception Pills

EBM • Expressed Breast Milk

EDD • Estimated Date of Delivery – Expected Due Date of baby’s birth

EMU • Early Morning Urine

EP • Exclusively Pumping

EPT – Early Pregnancy Test 

ET • Embryo Transfer

EWCM • Egg White Cervical Mucus – The type of cervical mucus that’s during ovulation. Resembles raw egg whites.

FET • Frozen Embryo Transfer

FHR • Fetal Heart Rate

FIL • Father In Law

FF • Formula Fed 

FMU • First Morning Urine

FP • Follicular Phase – From CD1 until ovulation

FRER • First Response Early Result pregnancy test – This test seems to be the one most people rely on for accuracy.

Frostie • Frozen Embryo

FSH • Follicle Stimulating Hormone 

FT • Full Term 

FTM • First Time Mom

FX • Fingers Crossed

GA • Gestational Age – How far along you are in your pregnancy. Ex. 12 weeks, 20 weeks

GD • Gestational Diabetes

GTT • Glucose Tolerance Test – Used to diagnose high blood glucose during pregnancy, aka gestational diabetes

hCG • Human Chorionic Gonadotropin – Aka the pregnancy hormone

HPT • Home Pregnancy Test

ICSI • Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

IF • Infertility – Inability to get pregnant after 12 months of trying.

IFW • Infertility Warrior

IUI • Intra Uterine Insemenation

IVF • In Vitro Fertilization

LC • Lactation Consultant

L&D • Labor & Delivery

LH • Luteinizing Hormone

LMP • Last Menstrual Period

LO • Little One 

LP • Luteal Phase – Time between ovulation and menstruation (aka TWW)

LSC • Low Sperm Count

MC • Miscarriage 

MIL • Mother In Law

ML • Maternity Leave

MMR • Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine

MOTN • Middle Of The Night

MS • Morning Sickness

NBR • Not Baby Related

NTNP • Not Trying, Not Preventing

O or OV • Ovulation

OH • Other Half

OPK or OPT • Ovulation Prediction Kit or Ovulation Prediction Test

OT • Over Tired

OTC • Over The Counter – Medication that is available without a prescription.

PAI • Pregnant After Infertility

PdG or P4 • Progesterone

PCOS • Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

PG • Pregnant

PGD • Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis

PGS – Pre-implantation Genetic Screening

PGT • Pre-implantation Genetic Testing

PI • Primary Infertility – Inability to conceive after a minimum of 1 year of trying.

PID • Pelvic Inflamatory Disease

PMS • Pre- Menstrual Syndrome

POAS • Pee On A Stick

PPD • Post Partum Depression

PUPO • Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise

PVN • Prenatal Vitamin

RE • Reproductive Endocrinologist

RPL or RM or RMC • Recurrent Pregnancy Loss or Recurrent Miscarriage – Two or more consecutive losses.

SA • Semen Analysis

SAAF • Stay Away Aunt Flow/Flo

SAHM • Stay At Home Mom

SB • Stillborn

SD • Sperm Donor

SI • Secondary Infertility – Struggling to conceive after a previous pregnancy.

Slacker Boob • When one breast underproduces milk compared to the other breast.

SO • Significant Other

STD • Sexually Transmitted Disease

STM • Second Time Mom

STTN • Sleeping Through The Night

SubQ • Subcutaneous Injection

TR • Tubal Reversal – Surgical procedure to reconnect a woman’s fallopian tubes after a previous tubal ligation

TTC • Trying To Conceive 

TTCAL • Trying To Conceive After Loss

TIA • Thanks In Advance

TMI • Too Much Information

TW • Trigger Warning

TWW or 2WW • Two Week Wait – The estimated amount of time between ovulation and your expected period. The TWW was the most agonizing part of the whole process for me!

Tx • Treatment

UI • Unexplained Infertility

US • Ultrasound

UTI • Urinary Tract Infection

VBAC • Vaginal Birth After C-Section

WFH • Work From Home

WFHM • Work From Home Mom

WFP • Wait For Period

WOH • Work Outside Home

YTC • Yearning To Conceive