Keep this handy list close by to make sense of what your mummy community online is talking about!
No doubt about it, the Internet is a godsend. This “all-knowing” reference guide is what you’ll always turn to in desperate times. In fact, as a new mum, your sanity depends on it. And you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll be spending many more sleepless nights frantically Googling tips on how to soothe your wailing baby at 3am for the third night in a row. Except that everyone seems to be speaking in tongues!
Fear not, we have trawled the Net and put together a glossary, all the better for you to decipher all that the child-rearing jargon:
A
ABA ― Applied Behavioural Analysis: A form of therapy for autistic children.
AEP ― Art Elective Programme: Often used on PSLE or secondary school admissions forums. This is aimed at helping students with artistic abilities to undertake a curriculum that will further develop their talents.
AF ― Aunt Flo: Menstruation or period.
AP ― Attachment Parenting: A parenting approach to raising infants that aims to promote a close relationship between the baby and its parents by methods such as feeding on demand and wearing the baby.
AMH ― Anti-Mullerian Hormone: The levels of this hormone in a woman’s body can be used to determine her remaining egg supply.
B
BB ― Baby/Babies.
BBT ― Basal Body Temperature.
BCP ― Birth Control Pill.
BD ― Baby Dance: Another term for baby making.
BF ― Breastfed/Breastfeeding.
BFN — Big Fat Negative: Commonly used on conceiving blogs and forums. Refers to pregnancy test result.
BFP — Big Fat Positive: Commonly used on conceiving blogs and forums. Refers to pregnancy test result.
BIL — Brother-In-Law.
BLW — Baby-led Weaning.
BM ― Breastmilk.
BMS — Baby Making Sex.
BN — Brand New: Commonly used on buy and sell forums and Carousell.
BNIB — Brand New In Box: Item comes in sealed in its original packaging, implying that the item is in mint condition/unused.
BTDT — Been There Done That.
C
CA 1 ― Continual Assessment 1 and 2: An exam held in the middle of each semester.
CC — Childcare.
CD — Cycle Day: Day of menstrual cycle.
CF — Cervical Fluid: Fluids from the vagina during the most fertile part of one’s cycle.
CIO — Cry It Out: A sleep-training method for babies.
CM — Cervical Mucus: Fluids from the vagina during the most fertile part of one’s cycle.
COP — Cut-off Point: Commonly used in discussion forums about PSLE. Refers to the aggregate score one must attain to enter a secondary school.
CS or C/S — Caesarean section.
D
DB or DBF — Dear Boyfriend.
DC — Day Care.
DD — Dear Daughter: Accompanied by a number to denote birth order.
DF — Dear Fiancé/Fiancée.
DH — Dear Husband.
DN — Dear Niece / Nephew.
DPO — Days past ovulation.
DS — Dear son: Accompanied by a number to denote birth order.
DSA — Direct School Admission exercise: A scheme that allows schools greater flexibility to select new students based on their talents in sports or in arts.
DW — Dear wife.
D&C — Dilation and curettage.
E
EBM — Expressed breastmilk.
EBF — Exclusive breastfeeding.
EDD — Estimated date of delivery or estimated due date.
EESIS — Edusave Entrance Scholarships for Independent Schools: A scholarship awarded to Singaporean students in the top one-third of Secondary One students entering independent schools. Often used on PSLE and secondary school forums.
ENDO — Endometriosis.
ENDO Scratch — Endometrial scratch: A procedure in which a thin catheter is passed through the cervix to scratch the lining of the uterus.
Read on and find out what’s GEP, HPT, LMP and more …
F
FET — Frozen embryo transfer, a form of fertility treatment.
FIL — Father-in-law.
FM — Formula milk.
FSH — Follicles-stimulating hormone: A hormone that regulates reproductive processes.
FTM — First-time mum.
FTWD — Full-time working dad.
FTWM — Full-time working mum.
G
GA — General anaesthesia.
GEP — Gifted Education Programme: A programme for the intellectually gifted students.
GP — General practitioner.
H
hCG — Human Chorionic Gonadotropin: A type of hormone secreted by the placenta when a woman is pregnant.
HPT — Home pregnancy test kit.
HTH — Hope this helps.
I
ICYMI — In case you missed it...
IFC — Infantcare.
IMHO — In my humble opinion or In My Honest Opinion
IMO — In my opinion.
IP — Integrated Programme: Secondary schools offering this programme allows your child direct admissions into junior college without having to take the GCE “O” Level examinations. Subject to your child’s ability to meet certain academic criteria.
IUI — Intrauterine insemination: A form of fertility treatment.
J
JTS — Just to share.
K
KWIM — Know what I mean.
L
LH — Luteinising hormone.
LMP — Last menstrual period.
LO — Little one.
LP — Luteal phase: The latter phase of the menstrual cycle.
LPD ― Luteal phase deficiency.
Read on and find out what OPK, SAHD, 5DP5DT means and more…!
M
MIL — Mother-in-law.
ML — Maternity leave.
MO — Months-old.
M/C — Miscarriage.
N
NB — Newborn, sometimes used with baby.
O
OPK — Ovulation predictor kit.
OT — Occupational therapy or therapist.
OWT — Old wives’ tale.
O&G — Obstetrician & gynaecologist.
P
PD — Paediatrician.
PM — Private message.
S
SA — Semen Analysis
SA1 and SA2 — Semestral Assessment: Examinations held at the end of the first six months of the school year and before the end of the school year.
SAHD — Stay-at-home dad.
SAHM — Stay-at-home mum.
SIL — Sister-in-law.
SMH — Shake my head.
ST — Speech therapist.
T
T-score — Aggregate score in the PSLE.
TIA — Thanks in advance.
TTC — Trying to conceive.
V
VJJ — Vajayjay (American slang for Vagina).
VBAC — Vaginal birth after Caesarean.
VE — Vaginal examination.
W
WFH — Work from home.
WTB — Want to buy.
WTE — Want to exchange.
WTG — Want to give away.
WTS — Want to sell.
Y
YO — Years-old.
#
+ve — Positive.
-ve — Negative.
2WW — 2 Week Wait: Commonly used in conceiving forums and blogs. Often refers to the torturous wait between undergoing a form of treatment and the pregnancy test.
5DP5DT — 5 days past a 5 day transfer: Referring to the fifth day after five embryos have been transferred. The numbers of days that have past can be changed accordingly.
Spotted a common abbreviation that's not on this list?
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Photos: iStock
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