2WW-Two Week Wait - this is the period of time usually post ovulation that a woman has to wait to take a pregnancy test....for IVF the 2WW is more like 9-11 days...
AH-Assisted Hatching - a pretty cool little process that happens sometimes right before the fertilized eggs are transferred into the uterus. Did you know that fertilized eggs actually "hatch" in the uterus before you take a positive pregnancy test?? The outer shell breaks open and the little embryo inside buries itself deep into the walls of the uterus where the placenta and the amniotic sac begin developing. In Assisted Hatching an Embryologist will introduce a chemical that helps the outer layer of the fertilized egg to break open right before being transferred into the uterus. This is done when the shell of the fertilized egg is deemed too thick and runs the risk of not "sticking" once inside the womb...
ART-Assisted Reproductive Technology - just a blanket term encompassing all things considered "fertility treatments"...
BBT-Basal Body Temperature - I am all too familiar with this one. Your basal body temperature is the temp of your body directly upon waking. It's generally lower than 98.6 and it's fluctuations tell you lots about what's happening in your body. An upward shift in your BBT in the middle of your cycle indicates ovulation...
BCP-Birth Control Pill - self explanatory
Beta-Beta Blood Pregnancy Test - this is a blood pregnancy test that is quite a bit more sensitive than an HPT. If it's positive, you are positively pregnant no matter what the HPT says!
BFN-Big Fat Negative - negative pregnancy test
BFP-Big Fat Positive - on a pregnancy test that is. Can't wait to write this bad boy in lights soon!
Blast-Blastocyst - This is what your embryos are considered once they're fertilized and have undergone some growing for the first 5 days.
Blast-Blastocyst - This is what your embryos are considered once they're fertilized and have undergone some growing for the first 5 days.
DPO-Days Past Ovulation - Women use this term to track the possibility of pregnancy after ovulation. Generally an HPT will not show positive until at least 10 DPO, and the likelihood of a pregnancy is high if you are more than 18 DPO...
DPT-Days Past Transfer - just like it sounds these are the numbered days after the fertilized eggs are placed in the uterus. 9 DPT is usually a safe day to take an HPT...
EDD-Estimated Due Date - the day your little one is due to make his/her debut!
"Embabies"-Embryos - embryos awaiting transfer or freezing...sometimes the eggs and sperm that are being watched for development before transfer or freezing are considered by awaiting mommies as "embabies" too...
FET-Frozen Embryo Transfer - this is the process by which frozen embryos are thawed and then prepped to be transferred into the mother's uterus
Fresh Transfer - This is the process that happens when a mother's eggs are retrieved from her ovaries, fertilized, and then well graded embryos are transferred directly back into her uterus without being frozen first...
"Frosties"-Frozen Embryos - fertilized embryos that have not been transferred and are currently in a cryogenic freezer
FSH-Follicular Stimulation Hormone - just what it sounds like...a hormone that stimulates the follicles in your ovaries to produce eggs
hCG-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin - this is the "pregnancy hormone" that triggers a Beta or an HPT to show positive. These numbers double almost daily for the entirety of your pregnancy...
HPT-Home Pregnancy Test- sometimes people also use POAS (pee on a stick) but I try to avoid that one...makes me feel weird to say that...
HSG-Hysterosalpingogram - this is a procedure where they shoot dye into a woman's uterus and fallopian tubes to see if there are any abnormalities in shape, if the tubes are closed, or if there are any foreign things inside the uterus (i.e.-polyps, fibroids, etc.) that might hinder conception or a successful term pregnancy
IUI-Intrauterine Insemination - this is the process where an RE retrieves a sperm sample, washes it in a chemical, and places the sperm right in the uterus near the tubes to aid in conception
IVF-In Vitro Fertilization - in layman's terms that's the fertilization of the eggs in a dish (in vitro) before transferring them to the uterus or to the freezer
IVF with ICSI-In Vitro Fertilization with Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection - this is the process where an RE takes washed sperm and an egg retrieved from the mother or from a frozen tank and injects the egg with the sperm itself. This is required sometimes when there is preventative male factor issues or sometimes even if the woman's eggs are found to have too thick of shells. It's also done in more specific instances to reduce the risk of recessive birth defects (things like Tay Sachs, Trisomy issues, etc.). Pretty incredible this technology isn't it??
OHSS-Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome - Yikes...this is a doozy. Let's pray Jonathan and I don't experience this one...it's what happens when your body reacts adversely to the hormones meant to hyper stimulate your ovaries. It can be very painful and dangerous...
Post Retrieval Day ___ - these are the days post retrieval that the sperm is being paired with the waiting eggs and an embryologist is watching them carefully to see which of them will become viable embryos. Most Fresh Transfers will happen on Post Retrieval Day 5 unless the embryos are not very stable and need to be transferred into a less synthetic environment (i.e.-mommy's belly) more rapidly. Then Post Retrieval Day 3 is a more desirable transfer day.
RE-Reproductive Endocrinologist-this is a "fertility doctor"
TTC-Trying to Conceive
Overwhelmed yet?? Ha! I promise if I throw any of these out there on this blog or in person I will try and explain them and not leave you hanging. But if I ever spout one off in conversation with you and you think "What the heck is she talking about??" just ask! In 5 years of trying some of these have become common language for us....
TTFN!
...that's Ta Ta For Now... ;)
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