The cycle does not arrive: what can be the reasons?

If your period is a few days or a week or more late, you may not be pregnant. There are many other reasons that justify the absence of the menstrual cycle.

Aspiring mothers who are looking for a pregnancy, be careful not to create false illusions . For all those who are not trying to get pregnant, don’t worry because this delay could be due to something else (in any case, take a test to rule out pregnancy !).

I remind you that the delay of the cycle, if you are not pregnant, means that you have not ovulated or you ovulated later than expected and so your periods consequently arrive later.

Obviously the first thought that flashes to our mind in case your period doesn’t arrive, whether you are looking for a baby or in any case have an active sex life without precautions, is obviously pregnancy.

But there are 9 other reasons besides this one why menstruation doesn’t come. Let’s see which ones.

1. Stress , perhaps due to work problems, or family or study problems, can affect many things in our lives, and even the menstrual cycle. High rates of stress decrease the amount of circulating gonadotropins which can cause non-ovulation and therefore the non-arrival of menstruation on the expected date. So try to eliminate, with the help of a professional, the source of stress to rebalance your hormonal serum
2. A flu or temporary illness can cause a delay in menstrual periods. So once you heal your hair should come back about a couple of weeks after you ovulate.
3. Shift work or change of habits: those who work shifts, including nights, may have slightly off cycles, especially if the change between night and day is fast. These changes should be more long-term and not very frequent so as not to affect the regularity of the cycle.
4. Taking new medications : If you’re taking any new medications for some reason and notice irregular periods, talk to your doctor. Be careful with the drugs you take if you also take the birth control pill because some are not compatible and could inhibit the effect of the pill.
5. Overweight : excessive weight could affect the hormonal balance and therefore lead to irregularities or even absence of the menstrual cycle. Many women regain the regularity of the menstrual cycle after losing the excess kilos (even just a part)
6. Underweight : when you are underweight, you often lack that dose of fat mass which is essential for hormone synthesis. This causes irregular periods but also  secondary amenorrhea . Usually, simply gaining weight is all it takes to get your period back. This, for example, is a common problem for many professional athletes.
7. Incorrect calculations: well, it can happen that you have incorrectly marked the date of your last menstruation. In fact, it sometimes happens that we think we are late and instead we simply miscalculated! However, if we have irregular cycles, we can’t do who knows what counts. The only thing to do in these cases to understand when the period should return is to monitor ovulation knowing that menstruation usually returns after a couple of weeks.
8. Pre-menopause : it is the period between the reproductive phase and the no longer fertile phase. This period can be more or less long during which cycles can be more or less frequent, more or less abundant or in any case not as before. Fertility is not absent but it is reduced therefore it is still necessary to use contraceptive methods.
9. Menopause : when we enter menopause our body stops ovulating and therefore not being fertile. It is a natural event but it can also be caused surgically through hysterectomy or through chemical substances such as different forms of chemotherapy.
10. Pregnancy : this is the reason most of you readers have been hoping for. The only way to tell if your delay is actually due to the conception of a child, is a simple pregnancy test that detects the hormone beta HCG. If the test is positive, notify your gynecologist or midwife to find out what steps to follow. One of the first is obviously folic acid , if you haven’t started taking it yet, and early pregnancy exams.

If you take a late pregnancy test and it is negative, wait a few more days to repeat it. Sometimes you ovulate later so conception occurred after the expected date and therefore the pregnancy hormone is not yet detectable by urine test. If the second subsequent test is also negative and you don’t know what could be the reason for the delay, it is advisable to consult your doctor for a visit.