Why is menstruation late?

Menstruation is a natural process in a woman's body. It begins around age 12 and ends around age 50.

If it comes a few years earlier or ends earlier, we still consider it physiological. There is no exact limit. Therefore, the onset and end is individual for each woman.

What does the menstrual cycle mean?

Menstruation occurs in menstrual cycles that last an average of 28 days. A normal cycle is also from 21 to 35 days. Bleeding lasts from 1 to 7 days (on average 2 to 5 days). A woman loses 50 to 80 ml of blood during it.

The cycle itself takes place in several stages:

1. Menstruation itself is preceded by the premenstrual phase, which usually lasts a few hours. During this phase, the cells on the surface of the endometrium break down and die.
2. The menstrual phase begins on the first day of menstrual bleeding. The bleeding we see means that the endometrium is being peeled off the uterus and subsequently shed. Therefore, we can sometimes also see bits of mucous membranes in the menstrual blood.
3. This is followed by the third phase, during which new endometrium is formed. This is also called the regeneration phase. It lasts for a maximum of 2 days. We can also refer to it as the recovery phase, because during this phase the endometrium is being rebuilt so that the fertilised egg can attach.
4. The fourth phase is the follicular phase, during which new follicles are formed in the ovaries due to the follicle-stimulating hormone.
5. The cycle ends with the ovulatory phase between days 12 and 16. In this last phase, the egg is released from the ovary and is ready for fertilisation. This is due to an increase in the level of luteinising hormone.

My period is late, should I be worried?

We consider the regularity of menstruation as an indicator of the correct functioning of the female reproductive and hormonal system. The presence of period bleeding indicates in most cases the health and fertility of a woman.

Long or regular delay of menstruation or its complete absence can represent a physiological condition (pregnancy, menopause), banal (stress, contraception, hormonal fluctuations), but also a serious problem (inflammation, adhesions, endometriosis, cancer).

Delay or omission of menstruation, which is natural

Most women, in the case of delay or omission of menstruation, will think of pregnancy in the first place.

Older women also think of menopause or associate the absence of bleeding with some other health problem.

Pregnancy is the most natural reason for missing menstruation

Every woman knows that pregnancy is the most natural reason for the absence of menstrual bleeding. In case the menstruation does not come exactly or in the following days, this alternative should be taken into account.

Pregnant women do not have a classic menstruation because a fertilized egg has nested in the engorged endometrium. The endometrium is not secreted out, but forms a protection for the embryo.

The easiest way to find out is to use a pregnancy test. This measures the level of hCG, which is elevated in pregnant women. Elevated levels after childbirth may indicate a repeat pregnancy or placental cancer.

Interesting:
In the first months of pregnancy, there may be slight bleeding, which is associated with the process of the egg's nesting. It will spontaneously subside.
Heavy bleeding in pregnancy always means a serious problem and an impending miscarriage.

The absence of menstruation during breastfeeding is a natural and temporally individual event

Did you have a baby and you still haven't got your period?

It is quite normal, there is no need to worry about it. This phenomenon is as natural as pregnancy itself.

Breastfeeding mothers get their first period several months to years after giving birth. Most often this period lasts 6 months to a year. But this time span is very wide and individual. Therefore, an earlier or later onset of menstruation is not unusual.

Breastfeeding is a process that, in addition to the production of milk in the mammary glands, also prevents further pregnancy. It works almost as effectively as contraception.

Interesting:
Nature is very consistent. This is also the case with the process of lactation, which prevents menstruation and further pregnancy.
This temporary "infertility" allows the newborn a long enough period for natural breastfeeding and individual attention.
Another pregnancy could inadvertently disrupt this process.

Menopause: the complete end of menstrual bleeding

Just as menstruation came and made reproduction possible for humans, it also leaves at a certain age. Menopause is not a disease, but a natural occurrence when older women lose the ability to bring offspring into the world. Ovarian function is extinguished by the physiological process of aging.

In some women it comes earlier, in others later. None of us can know in advance when it will come. The typical age is between 45 and 55, but earlier or later onset is not the exception.

Interesting:
The individuality of the onset of menopause is also shown by the cases of women who have become pregnant at an older age. The first place is held by a 70-year-old mother from India. Omkari Panwar even gave birth to twins in 2008!

The end of menstruation, menopause, or even menopause, if you like, is associated with hormonal fluctuations (a drop in estrogen) that cause various symptoms. Typically, it is irregular menstruation, reluctance to have sex, vaginal dryness, hot flashes, sweating, pressure fluctuations, heart palpitations and others.

Read also: Menopause in men, a joke or reality?

The most common causes of delayed and missed menstruation

Unlike pregnancy, lactation and menopause, there is a wide range of causes of delayed and missed menstruation. These are not so natural anymore and can also indicate a more serious problem or disease.

Delayed menstruation can result in the complete absence of menstruation. The complete absence of menstruation is called amenorrhoea.

Gynaecological diseases and their effect on menstruation

Diseases of the female genital and reproductive organs represent a separate category among diseases. Because of their frequency, they are divided into many subcategories.

These diseases are manifested by a variety of manifestations. These are either more rare or common and shared by several of them. Disorders of the menstrual cycle are among the relatively common symptoms.

Gynecological causes of delayed menstruation:

• inflammatory processes and adhesions
• Asherman's syndrome (post-inflammatory adhesions)
• vaginal mycoses
• ovarian cysts
• polycystic ovary syndrome
• polyps
• tumours

Other diseases causing delayed menstruation

In addition to gynaecological diseases, diseases of other organs or systems can cause delayed and complete amenorrhoea.

The most common is a disorder at the level of the central nervous system, specifically the hypothalamus.

• encephalitis - an inflammatory disease of the brain
• meningitis - inflammatory disease of the meninges
• meningoencephalitis - inflammatory disease of the brain and meninges at the same time

It also occurs in other diseases of the central nervous system, at the level of the pituitary gland.

• Nanism - a disorder of the adenohypophysis and somatotropic (growth) hormone deficiency
• gigantism/acromegaly - adenohypophysis disorder and somatotropic hormone excess
• pituitary tumours - tumours affecting the pituitary gland
• Sheehan's syndrome - ischaemic necrosis of the pituitary gland (death of the pituitary gland due to under-bloeding of the part in question)
• secondary Cushing's disease - a disease caused by increased levels of the hormone ACTH produced in the pituitary gland

Amenorrhea is often caused by endocrinological syndromes or endocrinological diseases.

• Fröhlich syndrome - a disease characterised by endocrine abnormalities based on damage to the hypothalamus
• Hypogonadism - failure of gonadal function with insufficient secretion of gonadotropins
• gonadal dysgenesis - dysfunction of the gonads
• hyperplasia of the adrenal cortex - enlargement of the adrenal cortex with subsequent enzymatic disturbances
• Primary Cushing's disease - a disease characterized by overproduction of glucocorticoids in the adrenal glands
• Addison's disease - bilateral adrenal dysfunction
• Hypothyroidism - reduced thyroid function
• hyperthyroidism - increased thyroid function
• diabetes mellitus - a disease manifested by a disorder of sugar metabolism

Mental and psychiatric illnesses affect people more than you think

With psychological disorders and psychiatric illnesses, missing periods is much more common than one might think. It is not only stress or depression, but also more serious mental illnesses.

The reproductive system is very sensitive. It overreacts to the emotional stimuli a woman experiences. It also works the other way around. A woman is more emotionally unstable during menstruation, possibly more irritable or even aggressive.

• stress, stress factors affecting women
• depression, depressive disorder
• anxiety, anxiety disorder
• fear
• panic disorder
• bipolar affective disorder

Read also: Anxiety, fear, depression or other symptoms. Causes go back to the past

Stress is the enemy of women trying to get pregnant

Today's world is full of stress. Stress has a very negative impact on the human body, and not only on its psychological side. Stress is often a triggering factor for many diseases.

Stress also negatively affects the menstrual cycle. And not only that! Stress can easily be considered the most common reason for delayed menstruation!

In a woman who is constantly stressed, the balance between progesterone and estrogen is disturbed. This manifests itself mainly in a delay, but also in the complete absence of ovulation and thus menstruation.

Stress should be avoided especially by women who are trying to conceive. Stress therefore also has a significant effect on pregnancy and fertility.

Interesting fact: Skipping menstruation was massively observed during World War II in female prisoners.

Changes, adaptations and time zones

Any rapid change triggers adaptation processes in humans and animals. The process of adapting to something new is a normal and necessary process for survival.

However, rapid change puts excessive stress on the human body. For some people, even minor changes can cause problems. Like stress, changes in environment, temperature or time zone have an impact on the human body.

In a woman's body, this can mean, among other things, a problem with the menstrual cycle. This shock usually manifests itself in a delay in menstruation. Its complete omission is almost unheard of.

Menstrual delays are most common in women who travel to more distant areas with a different time zone or climate. The menstrual cycle adjusts after adaptation to the new environment or after returning to the home environment.

Exercise and weight loss is not always a positive

Do you have some extra pounds and want to lose them by summer? The desire for a beautiful figure is a common goal for more women, if not all. However, weight loss needs to be planned and achieved gradually. Why?

The body gradually adapts to different changes. Weight loss is one of them. However, if it happens quickly, it means a shock to the body and low estrogen levels.

Also, rapid weight gain has a similar impact, namely in turn an excess of estrogen. Both extremes lead to a delay in menstruation.

Interesting:
Excessive exercise or professional female athletes may miss menstruation altogether. A low percentage of subcutaneous fat means low estrogen levels.

Hormonal treatment has consequences

The most commonly used hormonal treatment for women of childbearing age is hormonal contraception.

It is a preparation that has won the admiration and criticism of many people. Some speak of it with amazement because it protects us from unwanted pregnancy, others associate it with genocide.

Either way, contraception has its positives, but also its negatives.

It increases the level of estrogen. It basically gives the woman's body the information that she is pregnant. The hormone levels are very similar to those of pregnancy.

When you start taking contraceptives and when you stop taking them, the body gets a shock. It suffers a kind of hormonal shock.

Hormone levels rise rapidly, then fall at the end. This can cause irregularities in the menstrual cycle, delays in menstruation and even complete absence of menstruation. These changes can last for several months after discontinuation.