“Am I pregnant?” That is the first question that pops up when you miss your menstruation, especially when you have a regular cycle. Due to this, many pregnancy testing kits have been available in every drugstore with a wide range of brands and cheaper prices to choose from. Many times, we have a negative pregnancy test result but still, we do not menstruate. This becomes an automatic question when a person is expecting to be pregnant but what are the other reasons why a woman may have a missed period or a delayed menstruation? Don’t be too much alarmed. Although pregnancy is the most common cause for a missed period, pregnancy cannot be automatically confirmed overnight. You also need a couple of things like blood test, a pregnancy test, or an ultrasound to have it confirmed. The age of information technology made us all want to have instant answers and instant everything’s but it always pays to be patient and knowledge is the key.  Here are some of the causes why you miss having a period.

1.       Stress – The presence of a significant stress should be the first thing to assess for. We always encounter everyday stress to the extent that it can really affect our hormones and normal body cycles. Whenever we are stressed, our GnRH (Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone) drops which causes our body not to menstruate or ovulate. Thus, we have a disrupted cycle due to hormonal changes. Stresses can be due to work, schedule, relationships, family and financial problems. Stress can highly affect both our physical and mental health. It is always important to address the problem before it leads to other health concerns.

2.       Illness – Any illness affecting your reproductive organs or any illness so significant that can cause you a lot of stress. Also tumor in the brain, such as a pituitary tumor may greatly affect your menstrual cycle. Treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy may also cause amenorrhea. Diseases such as Chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases can totally disrupt the menstrual cycle. Several medications may also affect the hormones and the menstrual cycle. It is always important to read medication labels or ask your doctor if amenorrhea persists.
3.       Miscalculation  – It is important to have a record of your last menstrual periods (LMP) in order to know if you are really delayed.  Always remember that a menstrual cycle is not the same for everyone. It varies from one to another. A person can have 28 days cycle or 30 days cycle. Some people can have different number of days. Often times, when we thought we missed a period, we just had some errors in calculation or we are not sure of the exact date of LMP. Other times we suddenly have irregular cycles due to stress or schedule changes. Knowing the signs and symptoms of ovulation can help you a lot in monitoring your menstrual cycle. Regularly, you can have your menstruation in as little as 2 weeks. It is always best to know your body well.
4.       Changes in Schedules – Our body also needs to adapt to changes in schedules. An abrupt change in schedules poses a stress in our bodies, affecting our routines, the time of sleep, eating, working—we may not know but this could be a huge stress already. As our physical body tries to adapt to fluctuations in schedules and time, inside our bodies, the hormones also need to adapt as well.
5.       Recently Started Periods – If you just have started menstruating, it is just normal to have irregular cycles at the first couple of months or years. Be sure to consult it with your doctor to rule out the cause of having irregular periods. Also to decrease anxiety that it causes when you miss your period.
6.       Mental Health and Emotional Disorders – Disorders of the mental health and other emotional disturbances may lead to other problems too. This may affect the sleeping cycle, lifestyle, work, schedules, hydration, and nutrition if not addressed immediately.
7.       Use of Contraceptives and Hormone therapy – The use of contraceptives may have beneficial effects for family planning. The use of hormonal replacement therapy can help normalize the deficiencies of the hormones in our body. A change in the hormones can cause the menstrual cycle to be disrupted. Rather than being anxious all the time, it is better to have it consulted to a doctor.
8.       Malnutrition – When we talk about malnutrition, this includes being undernourished or over nourished. It is always imperative to have a balance to have a healthy state. Also dehydration and lack to nutrients in the body can pose Anovulation, wherein the egg doesn’t develop or release properly.