The menstrual cycle occurs in all females from the onset of puberty (average age 11 or 12 years) and continues until the menopause at middle age. Each month, the uterus develops a deep, cushioned wall, ready to receive a fertilized embryo.
If pregnancy doesn’t take place, this cushioned lining is shed via vaginal bleeding.
Menstrual periods last anywhere from two to seven days and the average cycle is once every 28 days, although it can vary. Anywhere between 24 and 35 days is considered a normal cycle.
If you have a delayed menstrual cycle and it is usually regular, it can be a worry.
Causes of late periods are:
• Pregnancy
Sexually active women could be pregnant and it is in fact often the first sign that a woman is pregnant. By two weeks late, all home pregnancy tests should be able to detect HCG, the pregnancy hormone, in your urine.
In fact, most can detect it the day your period was due and some of the newer, early detection tests can test positive a few days before you would have had your period!
• Stress
If you’ve had a busy schedule or a family trauma, it can delay your period. Ironically, if you’ve had unprotected sex and are worrying about the possibility of pregnancy, the stress can stop your period and make you think you’re pregnant when you’re not.
• Just beginning to have periods
If you are a pre-teen or teenager who has just started menstruating, it is normal to have late periods or even to skip a few altogether because it can take your body several months to get into the rhythm of it.
• Weight loss
If you have suddenly lost a lot of weight through dieting, this can delay or stop your period. People with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa often cease to menstruate.
Even if you don’t have a specific eating disorder, a healthy diet is required for a healthy cycle. If you eat a lot of junk food, this could impact on your periods, so make sure you have plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and grains in your diet.
• Other medical conditions
Conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (cysts on the ovaries) can cause light periods that are irregular or stop altogether. Thyroid disorders can also cause it as the thyroid controls hormones and the menstrual cycle is dependent upon hormones.
Structural problems with the uterus and tumors, either benign or cancerous, are other possibilities.
• Iatrogenic complications (doctor caused illnesses)
Illnesses caused by doctors can result in a late or absent period, for instance. If you have had surgery to your uterus, such as dilation and curettage (D and C), this can cause widespread scarring. It can actually block off your cervix, cutting off your menstrual blood’s exit from your body.
The blood then backs up inside you and can cause infection. This is a potentially serious condition that requires medical attention to fix it. If you’ve had a D and C, a termination, removal of fibroids or tumors and you haven’t had a period since, see your doctor.
• Some types of contraception
The contraceptive injection, Depo-Provera, can cause delayed periods or stop them altogether. On the other hand, it can also make you bleed more heavily.
Some women will not have periods for the whole time they are being injected. Each injection provides contraception for three months and its effects and side effects can last 18 months or longer after the injections are stopped.
The pill and other hormonal contraceptives can also interrupt your cycle. There may be a delay in re-starting your period after stopping the pill.
• Being between 45-55 years of age
You may be approaching your menopause. In the initial time before the menopause, periods become more irregular and it is normal to be late with some and miss others as your ovulation gradually shuts down.
Sources:
Periods, Irregular, Causes, NHS Choices. Web. 23rd May 2012. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Periods-irregular/Pages/Causes.aspx
Menstruation, absent, Medline Plus. Web. 23rd May 2012. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003149.htm
The Pill, University Health Services. Web. 23rd May 2012. http://www.uhs.wisc.edu/health-topics/womens-health/the-pill.shtml
Depo-Provera, Net Doctor. Web. 23rd May 2012. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/sex-and-relationships/medicines/depo-provera.html
Joanna is a freelance health writer for The Mother magazine and Suite 101 with a column on infertility, http://infertility.suite101.com/ . She is the mother of five children and practices natural childbirth, delayed cord clamping, full term breastfeeding and organic food diet.
Reviewed May 23, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith
Add a Comment25 Comments
hi my gf and i are sexual active she suppose to get her period by now ,she is three weeks late, we took like 5 test all neg ,what can be the reason for her late period
January 14, 2016 - 9:36pmThis Comment
Its been two weeks since my friend was supposed to get her period but her grandmother died and she was really upset and she is just recovering from the flu could that be the cause of it
November 3, 2015 - 9:17pmThis Comment
Hello, this article is very helpful, but if possible could you change the sentence "The menstrual cycle occurs in all females from the onset of puberty" because not all females do. There are several reasons for a girl to not get her period at all (one of which being trans), so please keep those girls in mind.
July 21, 2015 - 12:28amThis Comment
This article is here to help the people who do menstruate and are worried about their health. I don't believe that the article is excluding trans women on purpose. I just don't think the targeted demographic is anyone other than those who are worried about themselves or someone else whose cycle is off kilter. Wether it be a cis woman or a trans man who hasn't had the surgery.
September 14, 2016 - 9:33amThis Comment
Trans. They don't have a uterus. I think that's basic knowledge.
June 27, 2016 - 11:43pmThis Comment
I'm sorry but this is ridiculous. If a girl is Trans she would not be getting OR missing a period and would therefore not even be on this site. I don't see why something catered to biological females needs to be changed in order to take into consideration someone who wouldn't even have this problem in the first place. Get over it honestly.
November 10, 2015 - 11:52amThis Comment
This information refers to those genetically born female. Girls or women who were born with all the organs that allow you to menstruate and carry a child. Vagina, Cervix, Ovaries, Fallopian tubes etc. I understand that there are people who feel they are born in the wrong body and consider themselves female but the fact is if you were born with a penis, you can't menstruate nor do you have the ability to carry a pregnancy. It's like someone has already said, we know things are different these days but there are certain situations even society can't change. It's nothing personal or a dig at anyone, it's just simple genetics and a fact of life.
September 30, 2015 - 7:42pmThis Comment
So true.
June 27, 2016 - 11:45pmThis Comment
I think what she is talking about is a woman who doesn't have x y chromosomes...a genetically born woman. As much as people think there isn't a difference these days, there are certain things even society can't change.
September 25, 2015 - 8:23amThis Comment
I was due for my period July 1st, and when it still hadn't come by the 5th I started to panic. I took a first response pregnancy test and the result was negative. 5 more days went by before I got my period. My periods have usually been predictable and consistent with light cramping but this past period was the worst I'd ever experienced and I had every symptom. Still curious about this.
July 16, 2015 - 12:08pmThis Comment