I have a friend who is a newly-minted super Swiftie.

(stay with me here)

This past week, she invited a bunch of mom friends over to her home to watch the Eras Tour Concert Movie. I went. I enjoyed myself.

But it became clear to me VERY QUICKLY that I would have been enjoying the concert movie a lot more if I were initiated into the "Swiftie Code." My friends got excited about seeing certain band mates/singers on the stage, immediately picked up on references to particular albums and events, and even blurted out the scripted "call backs" in a few songs... which all left me to remark (hopefully humorously): "I have no idea what's going on. It feels like a cult!"

At one point in the evening, my friend challenged me to write an NFP-related blog post about the experience. So all I can say here is: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Because I remember when I was first learning about Natural Family Planning (NFP) and cycle charting... all the terminology felt kind of like a cult, meaning there were certain terms or ideas or "things to know" that weren't really penetrable or accessible to someone who was just trying to jump in and make it work.

So this week, I want to write a quick Body Lit Library entry about a few important ACRONYMS to know with NFP Charting!

ACRONYMS

BBT- Basal Body Temperature. Resting temperature can be tracked to indicate the presence of progesterone, following ovulation. All the BBT research we have for efficacy with methods was done using oral and/or vaginal temping. So even though many wearable devices (Tempdrop, Oura, etc.) claim to track BBT, we must clarify that they do so using either axillary or skin temperatures, which are not technically the same thing as the researched methods of tracking BBT.

BCC- Boston Cross Check. This is the method I teach! You can read more about it, especially compared to its "cousin," Marquette, here: https://pearlandthistle.com/whats-the-difference-between-bcc-and-marquette/​

CCL- Couple to Couple League. This is a specific symptothermal approach to family planning.

CD- Cycle Day. In the vast majority of methods, CD1 (cycle day 1) is the first day a flow of blood is established at the start of menses. But methods do determine this differently! So be sure to check with your instructor about directions for determining the proper counting and identification of Cycle Days.

CL- Coverline. This is a line used to identify temperature shifts. Some methods do not have a single coverline, but will instead have an HTL and LTL (high temperature line, and low temperature line)

CM- Cervical Mucus. This is produced within the crypts of the cervix and primarily tracks with the hormone estrogen throughout the cycle. Also called "Cervical Fluid"

CrMS- Creighton Model (FertilityCare™) System. This is the official, standardized charting system for Creighton.

DPO- Days Past Ovulation. This is a tricky one, because no NFP method can actually pinpoint the exact day of ovulation! All of the biomarkers we track occur within a window around ovulation. So this shorthand is often used to say "days past peak" if someone is tracking with cervical fluid or hormone monitoring, OR to indicate "days of high temps" assuming that the first elevated temperature in a shift roughly corresponds to the day of ovulation.

DTD- "Did the Deed" or "Did the Dance". A euphemism for having sex. Also sometimes listed as "BD" which means "Baby Dance"

EWCM- Egg White Cervical Mucus. This is also often called "peak-type" mucus, indicating that cervical fluid which presents with the coloring and consistency of a raw egg white is considered to be the "most fertile" type.

FABM- Fertility Awareness Based Method. This is a term which has gained a lot of popularity over (and in some cases, against) the term NFP. This term highlights the concept of fertility awareness, which is less directly related to pregnancy planning, and avoids the "churchy" connotation some people have with the term NFP.

LAM- Lactational Amenorrhea METHOD. People often forget the 'Method' part, which leads to a lot of confusion. Lactational amenorrhea is the natural suppression of fertility while breastfeeding. There is no charting or tracking involved when using this method, but you do have to meet the strict METHOD CRITERIA. It's not just "anyone who is breastfeeding" who can rely on suppression of fertility. And I see all the time that people claim they were using LAM and got pregnant.... but in the course of conversation it becomes clear that they didn't meet at least one of the major criteria.

LH - Luteinizing Hormone. This pituitary hormone is surges prior to ovulation, triggering a part of the "release" process which breaks down the follicle. An LH TEST would be a urinary test to check for the presence of LH.

LP- Luteal Phase. This is the term for the ovarian phase after ovulation, when the corpus luteum is present.

OPK- Ovulation Predictor Kit. This is a kit of LH Tests.

ROF- Return of Fertility. This is most commonly used in conversations about when ovulation/periods resume in the postpartum periods, but can also be used in conversations about when cycles returned after cessation of birth control, after a bout of secondary amenorrhea, etc.

STM- Symptothermal Method. This is a CATEGORY of method, not a reference to a specific system because there are a lot of STMs! It's very common for someone to say, "I learned STM" and think it means one thing. But CCL is not the same as SymptoPro, which is not the same as TCOYF... or Sensiplan... or Boston Cross Check with fluid + temps. So if someone says they learned "The Symptothermal Method" then my follow-up question is always: "Great. Which one?"

TTA- Trying to Avoid (Pregnancy)

TTC- Trying to Conceive

TTW- Trying to "Whatever." These couples are not actively trying to conceive, or actively trying to postpone.

What would you add to this list? I'm sure we can compile a Part 2!

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