Why you may experience late periods

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A normal menstrual cycle should be regular like clockwork so when it’s off schedule, there is always cause for concern. But contrary to popular belief, a menstrual cycle that’s off schedule doesn’t always indicate pregnancy.

There are many other factors that can cause delay in period; common reasons you may miss a period when you aren’t pregnant include hormonal birth control, hormone-related health conditions, stress and perimenopause.

Therefore, before running to purchase a pregnancy test kit in trepidation or excitement, there are other factors to consider:

Hormonal birth control: Birth control pills like intrauterine devices (IUDs) and Depo-Provera shot can cause irregular or late periods. Though people often think that birth control pills regulate the period, the bleeding people experience during the week of inactive pills is withdrawal bleeding, not a true period. That’s because hormonal birth control methods like the pill effectively override your body’s natural hormone cycle.

However, it has been established that no contraceptive is 100 percent effective at preventing pregnancy, so if you don’t get your period when expected, you might want to take a pregnancy test just in case.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) causes late periods because people with PCOS often have additional follicles, making the menstrual cycle take longer. Other common PCOS symptoms include weight gain and increased levels of the androgenic hormone, testosterone, which can cause thick hair growth on the face and breasts.

Stress: Emotional distress can affect the region of the brain that controls the pituitary gland, which regulates the hormones that stimulate our ovaries and may cause late period.

Fluctuating Weight: Losing or gaining weight can be another reason for late periods. “Severe weight loss and anorexia can shut down the hypothalamus’s production of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinising hormone that regulate the ovaries. Gaining weight can have a similar effect.

Perimenopause: This is the period before menopause which starts around 50 years averagely. During this time, which usually starts in your 40s, some people have delayed menstrual cycles. Instead of the average 28 days between periods, menses may arrive 36 or 48 days apart.

Pituitary Tumor: Though it’s rare and unlikely, sometimes a pituitary tumor that secretes excess amounts of prolactin, the hormone that signals breast milk production causes late period.

Diabetes and Thyroid Disease may be responsible for a late period.

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