Missed Period
What is a Missed Period?
Missing a period, especially if you always had regular menstrual periods, is a significant event, so naturally, the next question that follows is, "Am I pregnant?" Pregnant women have no menstrual period. But not every woman who misses her period is pregnant. A pregnancy can be detected mainly by a missed period and through different ways such as typical pregnancy symptoms, and early positive pregnancy tests. If you are trying to get pregnant and you miss a period, you are naturally excited, yet there is no way to know for sure until you take a pregnancy test. However, there are several symptoms that are suggestive of pregnancy, including breast tenderness, nausea and bloating. Keep in mind, these can also be premenstrual signs. Stress, illness, eating disorders and recent weight loss can also lead you to skip a period. However, if you have a history of irregular periods, this may not be unusual for you to miss a period.
A repeatedly negative pregnancy test even with a missed period typically means that you are not pregnant. A negative pregnancy test a week or more after your missed period indicates that your chance of being pregnant is less than 1-2%. A positive pregnancy test usually means that you are pregnant. However, sometimes it is possible to be pregnant even though you had a negative pregnancy test. Besides being pregnant, the next reason for missing your period is not ovulating (anovulation). That's why it is essential for every woman who is trying to conceive to chart her fertility and to find out if ovulation is occurring in each cycle. Knowing if and when you ovulated usually removes any confusion you may have if your period is late.
