I’m Late!
For some women, missing a period is a welcome joy, and they start figuring out her baby’s due date For others, missing a period brings worry and panic. If a woman is trying to get pregnant, then this could be one of the first signs that she has succeeded, leaving her feeling excited and happy. However, if a woman is not trying to conceive, or does not feel that she is ready to take on the responsibilities of motherhood, missing her period can bring on a whole other attitude of sadness and dread.
A woman’s period is caused by her uterus shedding the lining it builds every month in which a fertilized egg can attach itself and a pregnancy can develop. When a woman does not get pregnant, the lining is not needed and the uterine wall is shed, causing the bleeding and clots that a woman experiences approximately once a month. When a woman gets pregnant, and the fertilized egg is implanted into the uterine wall, the uterus does not shed, and there is no monthly period.
When a woman gets pregnant she should immediately start missing her periods, although this isn’t always the case. Sometimes women will have a period that is much lighter than normal, or rarely have a normal period for the first month. There are even a few recorded situations where a woman has continued to have a period throughout her pregnancy. Sometimes there might be a little spotting when the period should have come, making a woman believe that she had her period when she is in fact pregnant. This spotting is called implantation bleeding.
Just because a woman misses her period doesn’t automatically mean that she is pregnant. There are other reasons why her period might not have come that month. Stress and life changes can have a big effect on the regularity of a woman’s period on track. Also, if a woman has recently lost or gained a lot of weight, her menstrual cycle could be affected. Starting, stopping or changing her birth control during a cycle could also cause a missed period. Breastfeeding can also delay the return of a normal period cycle by up to a few months.
There are many ways to discover if your missed period means that you are pregnant, but the most common and easiest is to purchase a home pregnancy test. Most of these are close to 99% accurate and can tell a woman if she is expecting a baby, or if she is just “late”. When in doubt, be sure to call your doctor immediately.
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