Okay, so you’re new here. You wanted to come off birth control, work with your cycles naturally, and stop taking full responsibility for something that has two parties playing the horizontal dance (or vertical if you’re spicy, maybe even inverted).
You thought it would be simple, and then the abbreviations started. TTC, TTA, TTW, TTA3, LH, FAM, ROF, ROC, BFP, BFN… WHAT IN HOLY HELL IS GOING ON. Are these degrees?
But, never fear, your cheat sheet is here!
TTC – Trying to conceive a pregnancy.
TTA – Trying to avoid a pregnancy.
TTW – Trying to Whatever (get pregnant, don’t get pregnant, we coooooool! But, side note, if you’re TTW then you’re TTC and you can’t change my mind because if you’re really TTA you’ll never TTW – and now you actually understand these acronyms)
LH – Lutenizing Hormone. This hormone is what many women check with ovulation sticks. Once LH levels surge enough in the lead up to ovulation, those ovulation sticks will show a positive result which can indicate ovulation may be near. Unfortunately LH levels and a surge alone don’t confirm ovulation, and our PCOS gals can’t rely on this reading for symptothermal methods.
FAM – Fertility Awareness Methods. This can also be FABM (fertility awareness based methods), or STM, Symptothermal Method.
ROF/ROC – Return Of Flow and Return Of Cycle. This is a common acronym we see in the postpartum world, where many women don’t see a return of their cycle for many months postpartum.
BFP – Big Fat Positive. This is one that our TTC gals will know, because it’s in reference to that big fat positive pregnancy test that so many women are seeking!
BFN – Big Fat Negative. This is the one that our TTC gals will also know, as fewer than 10% of couples will conceive in the first cycle of trying. This is in reference to a negative pregnancy test.
BBT – Basal Body Temperature. This is our oral, vaginal, or rectal temperature. The Basal Body Ring provides a surface temperature, which has been shown to follow the same trends as your BBT, and is displayed as your BBT in the FemTek app.
CD – Cycle Day. Relatively straight forward, in that your cycle day is the current day of your menstrual cycle.
DPO – Days Post Ovulation. Once we’ve ovulated, knowing how many DPO we are is crucial for mid cycle testing, timing pregnancy tests, and understanding when you may have implantation occur.
EWCM – Egg White Cervical Mucus. This is our peak mucus! If you don’t know what this is, our resident TCM Practitioner Dr. Lauren Curtain has done a blog on it here.
The acronyms are endless! We will be sure to create a part two to this blog with even more acronyms you’ll see through your menstrual cycle and fertility groups!
