quick cheat sheet of acronyms
AF: Aunt Flo (period)
BFP: Big fat* positive (pregnancy)
BFN: Big fat* negative
TTC: Trying to conceive
RE: Reproductive endocrinologist (fertility doctor)
KD: Known donor
AD: Anonymous donor
OPK: Ovulation predictor kit
ICI: Intracervical insemination
IUI: Intrauterine insemination
PCOS: Polycystic ovarian syndrome
more detailed definitions
follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) blood test
FSH is the hormone in the blood that stimulates the production of eggs and is important in the regulation of menstruation. Inside the ovary there are many tiny follicles. A follicle is a fluid-filled cyst that has one egg inside. In the natural menstrual cycle, FSH is the pituitary message that stimulates the development of egg-containing follicles in the ovaries. More FSH is pumped into the body when a woman's natural follicle production is down. The FSH blood test, one of the first fertility tests a woman will undergo, measures the level of FSH in the blood and in the brain. In general, the higher the FSH number, the fewer eggs a woman is producing. The FSH test should be done around day three of a woman's cycle.
hysterosalpingogram (HSG)
A fertility test performed to determine whether the fallopian tubes are open or blocked and to show the location of any blockage. A dye (radiographic contrast) is injected into the uterine cavity through the vagina and cervix, filling the uterine cavity with dye.
intrauterine insemination (IUI)
A medical procedure that involves placing sperm into a woman's uterus to facilitate fertilization. IUI is not an ART procedure because it does not involve the manipulation of eggs.
in vitro fertilization (IVF)
Literally it means "fertilization in glass". IVF comprises several basic steps: the woman is given fertility drugs that stimulate her ovaries to produce a number of mature eggs; at the proper time, the eggs are retrieved by suction through a needle that has been inserted into her ovaries; the eggs are fertilized in a Petri dish in the laboratory with sperm; and subsequently the embryos are transferred into the uterus.
luteinizing hormone (LH) test
Luteinizing hormone, produced in the pituitary gland, helps regulate the menstrual cycle and egg production (ovulation). There is an "LH surge" just before ovulation (around day 14 of a 28-day cycle). Increased levels of LH - along with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) -stimulate the growth of a follicle in the ovary, leading to ovulation. An LH test may be one of the fertility tests a woman who is trying to conceive may undergo.
reproductive endocrinologist (RE)
Specialists in reproduction and endocrinology, or the system of the endocrine glands, including hormones.
