If you’ve just started participating in online Surrogacy or Egg Donation support groups, you may wonder “What the heck are they talking about?”

This handy list of acronyms will help you to decipher the lingo so you can jump in on the conversation!

2WW = 2 Week Wait
ART = Assisted Reproductive Technology
BCP = Birth Control Pills
BETA = Blood test for Pregnancy
BFN = Big Fat Negative (a negative pregnancy test)
BFP = Big Fat Positive (a positive pregnancy test)
CB = Cycle Buddy
CD = Cycle Day
CVS = Chorionic Villus Sampling
D&C = Dilation and Curettage
DE = Donor Egg
DP3DT = Days Post 3-Day Transfer
DP5DT = Days Post 5-Day Transfer
DPT = Days Post Transfer
E2 = Estradiol
ED = Egg donor/donation
EDD = Estimated Due Date
ET = Embryo Transfer
FET = Frozen Embryo Transfer
GC = Gestational Carrier
GD = Gestational Diabetes
GS = Gestational Surrogate
hCG HCG = Human Chorionic Gonadotropin
HPT = Home Pregnancy Test
HSC = Hysteroscopy
IF = Intended Father
IF’s = Intended Fathers
IM = Intended Mother
IP = Intended Parent
IP’s = Intended Parents
IVF = In Vitro Fertilization
LH = Luteinizing Hormone
LMP = Last Menstrual Period (start date)
M/C = Miscarriage
OB = Obstetrician
OB/GYN = Obstetrician/Gynecologist
P4 = Progesterone
PBO = Pre-birth Order
PET = Post-embryo Transfer
PG = Pregnant
PIF = Potential Intended Father
PIM = Potential Intended Mother
PIO = Progesterone in Oil
PIP = Potential Intended Parent
POAS = Pee on a Stick
SCH = Sub Chorionic Hemorrhage
SM = Surrogate Mother
SubQ = Subcutaneous Injections
TS = Traditional Surrogate
US or U/S = Ultrasound
Vbac = Vaginal Delivery after C-Section

Have one to add? Let us know!

Staci Swiderski, CEO and owner of Family Source Consultants, has been a prominent leader in reproductive medicine for over two decades. Through her strategic vision and dedication, she has developed Family Source Consultants into a globally recognized agency specializing in comprehensive egg donation and gestational surrogacy services. Under Staci’s leadership, the agency has become a trusted partner for intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors worldwide, known for its rigorous standards, compassionate support, and commitment to excellence in third-party reproduction.

Her professional insight is uniquely informed by her own family-building experiences. As an intended parent, Staci welcomed her son via gestational surrogacy in 2005, and as a known egg donor, she assisted an infertile couple in expanding their family. These experiences lend a rare depth to her leadership and have fueled her ongoing dedication to ethical, empathetic, and professional support within the field of reproductive medicine.