Are You Pregnant? Signs & Symptoms Does a Missed Period Mean You're Pregnant? By Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH twitter linkedin Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH is a professor, author, childbirth and postpartum educator, certified doula, and lactation counselor. Learn about our editorial process Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH Reviewed by Reviewed by Rachel Gurevich, RN on June 29, 2020 facebook twitter linkedin Rachel Gurevich, RN, is a registered nurse, fertility advocate, author, and recipient of The Hope Award for Achievement, from Resolve: The National Infertility Association. Learn about our Review Board Rachel Gurevich, RN Updated on September 17, 2020 Print Image Source/Photodisc/Getty Images When you don't get your period as expected, you might start to worry. The absence of your normal menstrual cycle can be concerning since it can indicate a pregnancy or it may be related to an illness or stress. It is considered one of the major possible signs of early pregnancy. People have different names for it such as a late period, skipping a cycle, or a missed period. In essence, it simply means that your normal menstrual cycle or period didn't happen when it should have happened. Throughout your lifetime, you may have a missed period for a variety of reasons. It may also just be delayed. Many women will go through various cycle abnormalities in their life due to various factors. This is not necessarily a problem for all women, but can also indicate a larger health concern for some. A missed cycle can also make trying to get pregnant or confirming early pregnancy more difficult for others. Stay Calm Mom: Episode 2 Watch all episodes of our Stay Calm Mom video series and follow along as our host Tiffany Small talks to a diverse group of women and top doctors to get real answers to the biggest pregnancy questions. 8:35 A Positive Pregnancy Test: Now What? Reasons for Missed Periods There are many reasons why you may have missed your period. Some women miss periods regularly because they don't ovulate regularly. You might also miss a period if you have a change in your sleep patterns, for example, or if you start working night shifts which can throw your cycles out of whack as your body learns to adjust to it. You can also miss your period if your weight is too low. After a certain amount of body fat, you may not have the hormone production to sustain your periods. This is often true if you're a very competitive athlete or suffer from disordered eating like anorexia or even bulimia. Sometimes stress can be a reason that your period is missing. (Though there is nothing more stress-inducing than not having your period when you expect it!) This can usually be determined easily by a discussion with your doctor. What to Do If You Miss Your Period If you miss your period, you should wait at first. Give it a few days to make sure you didn't miscalculate or do something to mix up the dates or that you aren't simply late. Many practitioners at this point, may recommend a pregnancy test. You can take a pregnancy test at home or your can go into your doctor's office. If it's positive, you have your answer: You missed your period because you were pregnant. If it is negative, you may want to wait a bit and try again. Seeing your doctor if you are worried is never a bad option. If you are planning to get pregnant soon, you can use the visit to start your preconception health plan. This is a great way to get your body on track to be pregnant. This helps you have the healthiest pregnancy possible. If you are not ready to be pregnant, they can help you determine what your reproductive life plan may look like to stay healthy and avoid pregnancy until the point where you make a decision to have children or permanently decide to not have children. Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Kwak Y, Kim Y, Baek KA. Prevalence of irregular menstruation according to socioeconomic status: A population-based nationwide cross-sectional study. PLoS One. 2019;14(3):e0214071. Published 2019 Mar 19. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0214071 Vigil P, Lyon C, Flores B, Rioseco H, Serrano F. Ovulation, a sign of health. Linacre Q. 2017;84(4):343–355. doi:10.1080/00243639.2017.1394053 Hoffman ER, Zerwas SC, Bulik CM. Reproductive issues in anorexia nervosa. Expert Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2011;6(4):403–414. doi:10.1586/eog.11.31 American Pregnancy Association. Preconception Health for Women. Additional Reading Bae J, Park S, Kwon JW. Factors associated with menstrual cycle irregularity and menopause. BMC Womens Health. 2018;18(1):36. Published 2018 Feb 6. doi:10.1186/s12905-018-0528-x Gabbe S, Niebyl J, Simpson JL. Obstetrics: Normal and Problem Pregnancies. Sixth Edition. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Saunders; 2012. Lawson CC, Whelan EA, Lividoti Hibert EN, Spiegelman D, Schernhammer ES, Rich-Edwards JW. Rotating shift work and menstrual cycle characteristics. Epidemiology. 2011;22(3):305–312. doi:10.1097/EDE.0b013e3182130016 Stefani L, Galanti G, Lorini S, Beni G, Dei M, Maffulli N. Female athletes and menstrual disorders: a pilot study. Muscles Ligaments Tendons J. 2016;6(2):183–187. Published 2016 Sep 17. doi:10.11138/mltj/2016.6.2.183