When I was younger and dating, I experienced two episodes of missed periods. Both times, I made appointments with a doctor and by the time of the appointment, my period had finally started. Coincidentally, when I finally did become pregnant with my soon-to-be husband, I had one continuous menstrual period that lasted for 3 weeks while experiencing several other pregnancy symptoms.
Stress has a way of disrupting our body's hormone balance and can cause a delay in our menstrual cycles. The best thing you can do right now is make yourself relax. Spend the time learning more about your menstrual cycle and methods of preventing pregnancy.
Talk with your boyfriend about how you are feeling and how you both have a responsibility to not put yourselves at such risk.
If you miss a second menstrual cycle, then it is time to take it seriously and be honest with your medical provider so it can be determined whether or not you are pregnant or if something else is going on. Vaginal spotting can also be symptoms of other ailments not related to pregnancy.
Here are some articles that may help you understand more about your body:
http://pregnancy.about.com/od/amipregnant/a/missedperiod.htm
10 Reasons Your Period is Late
What to do when you have a missed period
Nothing strikes fear into the heart of any woman like a missed period, unless she is trying to get pregnant. Am I pregnant? Pregnancy is the first thing that we think of when our period is delayed. But is pregnancy the only reason for people to have a late period? Here are the 10 most common reasons that you missed your period:
Stress
Stress can affect many things in our lives, including our periods. Sometimes we're so stressed out that our body decreases the amount of a hormone (GnRH), which causes us to not ovulate or menstruate. Working with your doctor or midwife can help you figure out what you need to do to relax and get back on schedule. This can sometimes take a few months or more to work itself out.
Illness
A sudden, short illness or even a longer illness can cause your periods to be delayed. This is usually temporary. If you think this is the reason that your period is late, talk to your practitioner about when they expect your period to return.
Change in Schedules
Changing schedules can really throw off your body clock. This is particularly true if you go from days to nights at work or vice versa. If you frequently change shifts and notice a problems with regular cycles, then see if it is possible to be put on a more permanent shift or at least a shift that only varies after a lengthier time period.
Change in Medications
Perhaps you're trying a new medication and a delayed or absent period is the cause. Be sure to talk to your doctor or midwife about this side effect. It is very common with some methods of birth control. If you change medications, be sure to ask what effects this may have on your period. This is true, even if you don't think that there will be a big change.
Being Overweight
Carrying around too much weight can hormonally shift your cycles and even stop them. Most women will see a return to normal cycles and fertility with the loss of some weight, even if they are still considered overweight.
Being Underweight
If you do not have enough body fat you will not have regular periods, sometimes you can eve cause your periods to stop all together. This is called amenorrhea. Typically a weight gain will help you have your periods return. This is a frequent cause of a missed period in women who work out to an extreme or are professional athletes.
Miscalculation
The menstrual cycle varies from woman to woman. While we say that the average menstrual cycle is 28 days long, that is not true for everyone. Sometimes our period is believed to be late when in all actuality we have simply miscalculated. If you have irregular menstrual cycles, but know when you ovulate, look for your period about two weeks after you ovulate. That may help you keep an easier track of your periods.
Peri-Menopause
Peri-menopause is the period of time where you are transitioning from reproductive age to a non-reproductive age. Your periods may be lighter, heavier, more frequent or less frequent - but mostly just not normal. If you do not wish to get pregnant, be sure to continue to use birth control because you are likely to still be fertile at least some of the time.
Menopause
Menopause is when you have reached the point in your life where you will no longer ovulate or menstruate. Menopause can be a natural life event or may happen surgically through hysterectomy or through chemical such as various forms of chemotherapy.
Pregnancy
Finally! Yes, your missed period might be because you're pregnant! A simple pregnancy test can usually help you determine if you have missed your period because you are pregnant. The urine pregnancy tests and blood pregnancy tests look for the hormone hCG.
What to do next?
If you are pregnant, you should call to make a prenatal appointment with your midwife or doctor. It normally takes a bit to get you in so call right away.
If you have taken a pregnancy test and it is negative. Most tests advise you to wait another week and retest. If the second test is negative or if you have a good idea of why your period is missing, then you can and should call the doctor or midwife sooner for a physical exam. They may also do blood work and can sometimes prescribe medications to help bring on a tardy period, like Provera.
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Am I Pregnant? Quiz
Q: Have you missed your period?
Yes
No
Q: Are your breasts sore?
Yes
No
Q: Are you more sleepy than usual?
Yes
No
Q: Are you feeling moody?
Yes
No
Q: Do you have an increase in cervical discharge?
Yes
No
Q: Have you missed more than one period?
Yes
No
Q: Do you feel movement in your lower abdomen?
Yes
No
Q: Are you having strange food cravings?
Yes
No
Q: Are you having more frequent headaches?
Yes
No
Q: Have you had any bloating?
Yes
No
Q: Have you outgrown your clothes?
Yes
No
Q: Have you had a positive pregnancy test yet?
Yes
No
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25 Signs of Pregnancy and Pregnancy Symptoms
Do You Recognize the 25 Early Signs of Pregnancy?
If you're like everyone else you're trying to figure out what the signs of pregnancy or pregnancy symptoms are and how likely they are to mean that you are pregnant. You can ask other people, you can worry in silence, but the best thing is to read through the categories and add up the signs. The more you have the more likely you are to be pregnant.
On the chart below are 25 of the most common signs of pregnancy and what they mean. You can also click the sign to get more information on each sign of pregnancy. The three categories of pregnancy signs are: possible, probable and positive.
Pregnancy Sign Category
Missed period Possible
Unusual or abnormal period Possible
Just "feeling" pregnant Possible
Nausea and Vomiting Possible
Changes in libido Possible
Soreness of the Breasts Possible
Enlargement of the Breasts Possible
Frequent Urination Possible
Strange Cravings Possible
Fatigue Possible
Montgomery's Tubercules Possible
Skin Changes Possible
Stretch Marks Possible
Enlarging Uterus Possible
Movement Possible
Colostrum from Breasts Possible
Enlarged Abdomen Probable
Change in uterine shape Probable
Braxton Hicks Contractions Probable
Palpation of the Baby Probable
Positive Pregnancy Test Positive
Fetal Heart Tones Positive
Ultrasound Detection Positive
X-ray Detection Positive
Typically we say that pregnancy symptoms start around the sixth week of pregnancy. This is particularly true of morning sickness. This isn't because of anything strange, it's typically more related to when the hormones really ramp up or get to levels that start to produce symptoms. Or it is even more likely that the changes are so slight that you completely miss them. Feeling a bit bloated? That's easy enough to think about as normal, since many women experience this around the time of the period. The same goes for things like backache and even some cramping. Or perhaps you think you have another reason for a symptom. This is particularly true of the tiredness many women experience in the early months. You might blame it on a work out or a rough day at the office, not realizing that it's really pregnancy related.