So, your period is late? There’s no need to hit panic stations just yet. It can feel worrying when your period doesn’t arrive when you expect but the good news is, it’s usually totally normal.
Menstrual cycle variation.
Firstly, contrary to what we’re often told, our periods aren’t actually – and don’t need to be – like clockwork. Some lucky folk can pinpoint pretty accurately when theirs will arrive, but variation within the menstrual cycle of up to 7 days is considered normal1. This means that if your period arrives up to 7 days late or early, it’s not immediately seen as a red flag on its own.
However, it can be very annoying and rather inconvenient. Especially if you feel like you’re playing russian roulette with your underwear drawer, second-guessing when it’s arriving. We’ve all lost that battle before.
Consider this your guide to troubleshooting your missed period, as well as words of wisdom and reassurance on what might be going on.
Inaccurate cycle tracking.
This seems blindingly obvious but you’d be surprised how common it is – are you sure you’re tracking your menstrual cycle correctly?
We’re used to hearing periods referred to as ‘monthly’ cycles, so a lot of us just assume we’ll get a period a month, around the same time, and that’s that.
Turns out, that’s not how it works. In fact, only around 16% of us have the magic, monthly 28-day2 cycle. The range of cycle length considered ‘normal’ is anything from 21-35 days2. The majority of us aren’t looking for that mythical, monthly bleed, and don’t think to track our periods accurately to check.
A quick how-to; the length of your menstrual cycle goes from day 1 of your period, to the day before your next period. If you track that consistently and it’s always the same – give or take a day or two – that’s your menstrual cycle length. Congratulations! You can start anticipating when your period will arrive and not worry you’re going to get ambushed quite so often. But remember, a bit of variation is normal, so don’t be alarmed if it’s not bang on every single time.
While I’m on the subject, if you want to know more about cycle tracking; how to do it, what to track and why it’s important, you can head to our Period Tracking for Dummies page.
Pregnancy.
A missed period is one of the first signs of pregnancy. Groundbreaking information, I know!
So it should come as no surprise that I’m telling you; if you are someone with a vagina, who has sex with people with penises, and you have missed your period, and there is any chance you could be pregnant (remembering that contraception is never 100% effective) – take. a. test.
If you take one, and it’s negative, by all means come back and continue reading.
That’s kind of it for this one, pretty self-explanatory really.
If you’re in a rush and looking for the TL;DR version, you can check out our ‘why is my period late?’ quick-fire quiz, which is also free to download if you want a recap to hand should it happen again. Or, if you’ve got a few minutes and are curious for more info, stick around here and carry on reading.
Hormonal contraception.
Now as well as not always being 100% effective, the other thing about some contraception methods is that they can do a number on our periods. Sometimes it makes them lighter, sometimes it makes them heavier, and sometimes it stops them all together4. To add to the confusion, everyone responds differently to contraception so one person’s experience could be entirely different to the next.
Although this sounds like the ultimate head-scratcher, it’s nothing to worry about. It’s totally normal and expected for some people’s periods to change when using hormonal contraception.
As a little reminder too; if you don’t get on with your contraception for whatever reason – including inconvenient changes to your menstrual cycle – it’s worth trying out others to see if there’s one better suited to you.
Stress.
If your period appears to be on its own schedule, it’s worth asking yourself if you’ve been particularly stressed recently – especially around the first stage of your menstrual cycle (the couple of weeks following your previous period).
Stress releases its own pesky hormone: cortisol. When this happens, the cortisol interferes with some of our other hormones, including the ones responsible for our menstrual cycle. It can essentially delays ovulation5, and if ovulation is late, the knock-on effect means your period is likely to be late too.
While ideally we don’t want anyone experiencing stress full stop, the impact on your period should be temporary. Once your nervous system is slightly more regulated, you can expect your cycle to go back to normal6.
Honourable mentions.
To round-up, some other common causes of delayed or missed periods are if you have just started your periods (6-12 months), if you’re breast feeding, or if you’re experiencing peri-menopause7. These are instances where it’s expected for periods to be a bit AWOL because of hormonal changes in the body.
It’s worth mentioning that the above isn’t an exhaustive list of every possible reason you might miss your period, ever. That would be a very long list. But it is a list of some of the most common, which are nothing to worry about, to hopefully put your mind at ease.
When to see a Doctor.
If you’ve made it to the end of this and you’re thinking “none of these are me and now I’m in panic mode!”, let’s look at some of the things you might want to see your GP about:
- If you’ve missed 3 or more periods in a row,
- If your menstrual cycle is often irregular (more than 7 days difference in cycle length),
- You’ve been experiencing other symptoms alongside a missed period such as headaches, hot flashes, changes in vision or significant changes in weight.
To reassure you further, there’s a whole host of causes of wacky periods, and just because it’s worth a Doctor visit, doesn’t mean it’s going to be something sinister. But it is always worth checking if it’s something that could do with managing or treating.
If you want to know more about what’s cause for concern surrounding your period outside of irregular cycles, you can check out our ‘Is my period normal?’ quiz.
A collaboration: This article was created by Bloody Honest, as part of an ongoing content series collaboration bringing you shame-free, evidence-based period education.
References:
- https://www.bloomful.io/how-to-tell-if-your-period-is-actually-irregular/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7381001/#:~:text=The%20percentage%20of%20women%20with,(257%2C889%2F1%2C579%2C819)%2C%20and%2012.11%25%20(191%2C351%2F1%2C579%2C819)%2C%20respectively.
- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/periods/fertility-in-the-menstrual-cycle/
- https://www.nhs.uk/contraception/choosing-contraception/effects-on-periods/
- https://hertilityhealth.com/blog/stress-and-periods?srsltid=AfmBOoqHWIzXGryVUuq1QQL6YZwUCuKgj8OGNipHnEiM1BAA6fH3MANB
- https://patient.info/womens-health/periods-and-period-problems/missed-periods
- https://patient.info/womens-health/periods-and-period-problems/missed-periods
