subject: What Are The Reasons For A Late Period? [print this page] When you are trying for a baby its hard not to get very excited when your period doesnt start when you expected it to.
But a missed period does not necessarily mean you are pregnant.
Basically if ovulation is disrupted for any reason this will affect your period.
There are many things that could cause this. These include:
Stress and change
Its unusual, but not unheard of, for stress or worry to affect the timing of your period. However if you are feeling stressed around the time you would normally ovulate this could delay or stop ovulation and your period, which would normally come 14 days later.
A change in your usual routine, such as starting a new job, going on holiday, or changing your sleeping pattern can take your body time to adjust to and cause stress.
Sickness
Being ill around the time you would normally have ovulated, may keep you from ovulating or temporarily delay it
Eating disorders
Being unhealthily underweight or having an eating disorder can disrupt menstruation or cause periods to stop completely.
When a womans body doesn't have enough fat, it struggles to produce the oestrogen necessary for ovulation.
Being overweight
When a woman is overweight she may produce too much oestrogen.
A fine balance of hormones is needed to work together for a healthy menstrual cycle.
Miscalculations
A menstrual cycle is typically 28 days long. However a regular cycle does not guarantee that your period will always arrive when expected as ovulation can vary from month to month.
In addition, if you dont keep a written track of your period its easy to mix up your dates and miscalculate when you are actually due.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
This is caused by having excessive male hormones. All women produce some male hormones (androgens) but women with PCOS produce higher levels of androgens.
This can cause the ovaries to malfunction and interfere with ovulation.
Thyroid problems
Women with thyroid disorders often have problems with irregular ovulation and menstrual cycles
Sports
Women who exercise excessively sometimes stop having a period, even if outwardly they look like the picture of health. In reality an athletes body may stop menstruating to conserve energy. Or they lay have low body fat which, as stated earlier, interferes with oestrogen production.
Premature Menopause
When a womans eggs are no longer of a suitable quality ovulation stops and so do her periods. This usually happens around the age of 45, but can happen earlier and suddenly.
If it occurs before the age of 40 it is known as premature menopause.
