Although most women who are pregnant will miss their period, every woman who misses her period is not pregnant. Determining the odds that you might be pregnant or identifying other possible reasons for missing your period depends in part on whether you are trying to get pregnant or whether you are taking steps to avoid pregnancy. You may be in any one of the following situation:
I'm trying to get pregnant.
I hope I'm not pregnant.
I'm trying to get pregnant. If you are trying to get pregnant and you miss a period, you are naturally excited that you might be pregnant. There’s no way to know, of course, until you take a pregnancy test, but there are several symptoms that are suggestive. These include breast tenderness, nausea and bloating. Since these can also be premenstrual symptoms, though, they are not definite signs of pregnancy.
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Suppose you’ve taken a pregnancy test, though, and it is negative. What does that mean?
First, it is possible that you have simply tested too soon. Home pregnancy tests can detect the presence of HCG (the pregnancy hormone) once it has reached a certain level. Therefore, it is possible to be pregnant, but have a negative test result because you took the test before your HCG level was high enough. Although some tests claim that they can turn positive several days before you miss your period, they are not always accurate. If the test is positive, you can believe it, but if the test is negative, it may simply be too soon. Since the level of HCG should double approximately every 48 hours, you can retest again in 2 or more days.
Second, it is possible that you have had an extremely early miscarriage, sometimes known as a chemical pregnancy. You got pregnant, but the pregnancy may have stopped growing even before you miss your period. You might experience this as a particularly heavy period, or a period that is a few days late. It is possible to have a positive pregnancy test if you have a chemical pregnancy, but it is equally possible that the HCG level was never high enough to register on the test.
Third, if you recently went off the Pill or Depo-Provera (the shot) in order to get pregnant, it can take months for your periods to return to normal. During that time, you may not get a period at all. You will not be able to get pregnant until you start ovulating again. That will happen approximately 2 weeks before your period restarts.
Finally, stress, illness, eating disorders and recent weight loss can also lead you to skip a period. Of course, if you have a history of irregular periods, this may not be unusual for you to miss a period.
In summary, if you miss a period, it is not a guarantee that you are pregnant. If you are not pregnant, it does not mean that anything is wrong with your body. If you are not pregnant in this cycle, it is bound to happen in the coming months.
I hope I'm not pregnant. The only way to know for sure if you are pregnant is to take a pregnancy test. However, you can get some idea about the odds by considering several factors.
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First, you must have had sexual intercourse, or close genital to genital contact in order to get pregnant. Kissing, fondling, masturbation (“hand jobs”), “dry humping” (rubbing against each other with clothes on), oral sex or anal sex will not lead to pregnancy.
Second, using a form of birth control can significantly lower the odds of pregnancy. If you are taking the Pill faithfully, using Depo-Provera (the shot) or an IUD, or have had a tubal ligation, or your partner has had a vasectomy, the chance of pregnancy is very low. It is not zero, however. That’s why you need to check a pregnancy test to be sure.
If you are using withdrawal (the “pullout” method), the chance of pregnancy is high. Withdrawal is a very ineffective method of birth control.
If you are on the Pill, but not taking it every day, your chance of pregnancy begins to rise. If you miss one pill, but take two the next day, your chance of pregnancy is still low. However, if you miss several pills in one cycle, your chances of pregnancy may be as high as if you were using no birth control at all.
Why might you miss your period if you are not pregnant? If you usually have irregular periods, you may have missed a period because you did not ovulate in this cycle. If you have recently gone off the Pill or Depo-Provera (the shot), it may take months for your periods to return to normal. During that time, you may not get a period at all. Stress, illness, eating disorders and recent weight loss can also lead you to skip a period.
In summary, if you miss a period, it does not necessarily mean that you are pregnant or that anything is wrong with your body. You need to check a pregnancy test, though, to be sure.
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