Those who use infertility chat rooms and message boards on the internet often write in acronyms -- letters that stand for a compressed word or group of words. It’s like a secret code and can be totally confusing if -- like us -- you lost your Super Infertility Decoder Ring. So here’s a quick lesson on infertility lingo. This is what a message board comment might look like:

DH and I have been TTC for 2 yrs. Every time is BMS. Tiring. 3 MC. Hard. ASA but now moving to ART. Fingers crossed. This BB has been a lifesaver. Gets me ROFL sometimes! BBS.

Translation: Darling husband and I have been trying to conceive for two years. Every time is baby-making sex. Tiring. Three miscarriages. Hard. Anti-sperm antibodies, but now moving to assisted reproductive technology. Fingers crossed. This bulletin board has been a lifesaver. Gets me rolling on the floor laughing sometimes! Be back soon.

To get you started, we’ve jotted down some acronyms that will allow you to write while you learn the rest of the on-line lingo. It’s also okay to write everything out and totally

avoid acronyms altogether. Frankly, that’s how we still do it.

TTC- Trying to Conceive
DH - Darling Husband (and its corollary,
DW - Darling Wife)
IF- Infertility
2WW- 2-Week Wait
BW - Blood Work
CD - Cycle Day
PG - Pregnant
MIL - Mother-In-Law
RPL - Recurrent Pregnancy Loss
SAHM - Stay at Home Moms
Dx - Diagnosis
E2 - Estradiol
ED - Egg Donor
BCP - Birth Control Pills
BBT - Basal Body Temperature
CF - Cervical Fluid
LSP - Low Sperm Count
SI - Secondary Infertility