Common pregnancy and fertility abbreviations - decoded!

Confused about pregnancy and fertility abbreviations and acronyms you've seen online?

We decode common fertility acronyms, from TTC to BD and 2WW, and work out what they actually mean.

Have you ever taken a look at pregnancy websites and message boards and been confused by all the initials people use? To the uninitiated, it can seem like a strange kind of shorthand or a whole new language at first. TTC, CM, DP; what exactly IS everyone going on about?

Often seen on fertility and pregnancy websites and message boards like Mumsnet, Emma's Diary and Babycentre it's usual for frequently-used pregnancy and fertility terms to be referred to by abbreviations only.

Once you know what they mean it makes sense, of course! But it can also be hard to work out your TTC from your BD, often leaving you thinking WFT? When you're desperately hunting for all the information you can possibly get your hands on it's important to make sure you understand exactly what means what.

So to help you translate. here's a quick and handy guide to decoding pregnancy and fertility abbreviations and acronyms:

TTC

Our first fertility acronym and one of the most common, TTC means, simply, trying to conceive.

AF

'Aunt Flo' aka your period. What you don't want to see when you're TTC.

DH / DP

Dear husband / dear partner - a short and slightly icky way of referring to your other half.

CM

Cervical mucus, that all-important thing when you're TTC. You might also see EWCM, which stands for egg-white cervical mucus - the consistency that indicates you are ovulating soon (and it's time to grab your DP to BD).

BD

Known as doing the ‘baby dance’ – we’ll let you decipher what that one means...

PO

Post-ovulation, often referred to along with the number of days, e.g. you are 10DPO.

2WW

The two week wait is the length of time between pregnancy or your period. As anyone TTC will tell you, it often feels a LOT longer.

HPT

Home pregnancy test, which leads us on to...

POAS

Peeing on a stick, or taking the HPT.

BFN

Big fat negative – as it sounds, a negative result.

BFP

The most important of all the pregnancy and fertility abbreviations. This means big fat positive. You're pregnant; hurrah!