Overview – Periods

Changes in your body’s hormone levels before your period can cause physical and emotional changes.

How Late Can a Period Be Before You Know You’re Pregnant?

Is a late period a sign of pregnancy? If you usually have regular periods and your period is overdue by less than three days, you may be pregnant and your period might be considered delinquent. Late periods can result from a variety of factors, such as lifestyle modifications and medical problems. If you notice that your menstruation is running late! Book your next appointment with Dr. Beyerlein . Contact us or visit us online to book your next appointment . We are located at 10 Coburg Rd STE 100, Eugene, OR 97401 .

The majority of people have a little variation in their periods, although a few people may have pinpoint predictability. You should not worry if your period is a couple of days late. One month you may have a 28-day cycle, and the next month you may have a 26-day cycle. It’s possible that your period is late if it has been more than 38 days since your last period or if your cycle is very consistent and your period is more than three days late.

The first sign of pregnancy is usually a missed period, but there are other reasons for lateness. These include stress, extreme diet or exercise, hormonal contraceptives, and various health conditions. It is important to seek care in order to discover the cause of a late period as it may indicate serious health concerns of pregnancy.

How many days late can a period be before worrying about pregnancy?

Keep track of your period over several months to see if there are any changes in your cycle. As a result, you’ll be able to determine what a “normal” menstrual cycle looks like for you. In most cases, if your period hasn’t started within seven days of when you expect it (most pregnancy tests will also be accurate by this point) it’s considered late.

Is there a possibility of getting pregnant just after my period has finished?

It’s possible to become pregnant shortly after your period, but it’s not very likely. During or just after your period, you can conceive (get pregnant) if you have sex without using contraception. Getting pregnant is also possible if you have never had a period before, during your first period, or after your first-time having sex.

No safe time of the month exists when you can have sex without contraception without risking pregnancy. It is most likely that you will conceive during times of your menstrual cycle when you are most fertile.

What are the symptoms of ovulation?

Each month, one of the ovaries releases an egg that is mature. During ovulation, a woman is most fertile. Around day 14 of the average 28-day cycle, counting from the first day of one period to the first day of the next, ovulation typically occurs.

Since cycles may last anywhere from 23 to 35 days, and even your own cycle and ovulation time may vary slightly from month to month, there’s a wide range of normal.

Symptoms of ovulation include the cervix softening and opening, slight pain or mild cramps in the lower abdomen, cervical mucus growing thinner and clearer, and your basal body temperature fluctuating. Additionally, sex drive may also increase, the vagina or vulva may appear swollen, and light spotting can occur.

How early can I know my symptoms of pregnancy?

Depending on the person and the pregnancy, early pregnancy signs vary. You may not notice any symptoms at all or feel changes in your body before you realize you’re pregnant. A missed period, frequent urination, tender breasts, fatigue, and morning sickness are all symptoms of early pregnancy.

Depending on how soon you become pregnant, you might feel pregnant within a few days or weeks after you take a positive pregnancy test. Symptoms of pregnancy vary from person to person and even from pregnancy to pregnancy. It is possible to feel pregnant before you miss your period. Approximately one week before missing a period, some people report feeling pregnancy symptoms.

Overview – Periods

For most women this happens around every 28 days, but it’s common for periods to be more or less frequent than this, ranging from every 21 days to every 35 days.

Your period can last between 2 and 7 days, but it will usually last for about 5 days. The bleeding tends to be heaviest in the first 2 days.

When your period is at its heaviest, the blood will be red. On lighter days, it may be pink or brown.

You’ll lose about 20 to 90ml (about 1 to 5 tablespoons) of blood during your period, although some women bleed more heavily than this.

When do periods start?

Periods usually begin at around the age of 12, although some girls will start them earlier or later.

A delay in starting periods isn’t usually a cause for concern. Most girls will be having regular periods by age 16 to 18.

Period products

Period products soak up or collect the blood released during your period. The main types of period products are:

Pads

Pads are strips of padding that have a sticky side you attach to your underwear to hold them in place. One side of the pad is made of an absorbent material that soaks up the blood.

Pads come in many sizes, so you can choose one to suit how heavy or light your period is.

You can also get reusable washable pads.

Pantyliners are a smaller and thinner type of pad that can be used on days when your period is very light.

Tampons

Tampons are small tubes of cotton wool that you insert into your vagina to soak up the blood before it comes out of your body.

There are 2 types of tampon – ones that come with an applicator and others without an applicator that you insert with your fingers. In both cases, there’s a string at one end of the tampon, which you pull to remove it.

Tampons come with instructions that explain how to use them. If the tampon is inserted correctly, you should not be able to feel it inside you. If you can feel it or it hurts, it might not be in properly.

It is not possible for a tampon to get lost inside you. Your vagina holds it firmly in place and it expands inside you as it soaks up the blood.

Menstrual cups

Menstrual cups are an alternative to pads and tampons. The cup is made from silicone and you put it inside your vagina.

Menstrual cups collect the blood rather than absorb it. Unlike tampons and most pads, which are thrown away after they’ve been used, you can wash menstrual cups and use them again.

Period underwear

Period underwear are pants made from absorbent fabric. They soak up blood in the same way as pads, and have a layer to prevent leaks. They’re designed to be washed and reused.

PMS (premenstrual syndrome)

Changes in your body’s hormone levels before your period can cause physical and emotional changes.

This is known as PMS (premenstrual syndrome) or PMT (premenstrual tension).

There are many possible symptoms of PMS, but typical symptoms include:

feeling bloated
breast tenderness
mood swings
feeling irritable
spotty skin
low sex drive (loss of libido)
headaches

These symptoms usually improve when your period starts and disappear a few days afterwards. Not all women who have periods get PMS.

Getting pregnant

Working out when you can get pregnant – your fertile time – can be difficult. It’s around the time you ovulate, which is about 12 to 16 days before the start of your next period.

But sperm can survive inside a woman’s body for up to 7 days before ovulation occurs. This means your fertile time extends back earlier in your cycle.

You can calculate when your period will start and your peak ovulation times using an online period calendar.

You cannot get pregnant if you do not ovulate. Some hormonal methods of contraception, such as the combined contraceptive pill, contraceptive patch and contraceptive injection, work by preventing ovulation.

Changes in your periods

Your periods can change – for example, they may last longer or get lighter. This does not necessarily mean there’s a problem, but it does need to be investigated.

You can see your GP, or visit your nearest women’s clinic or contraceptive clinic.

Bleeding between periods, bleeding after having sex, or bleeding after the menopause needs to be checked by a doctor.

It might be caused by an infection, abnormalities in the neck of the womb (the cervix) or, in rare cases, it could be cancer.

You could be pregnant if you miss a period and you’ve had sex. See your GP if you’ve taken a pregnancy test and the result is negative (you’re not pregnant) and you’ve missed 3 consecutive periods.

They will investigate the cause and recommend any necessary treatment.

When do periods stop?

Your periods will continue until you reach the menopause, which usually happens when you are in your mid-40s to mid-50s. In the UK the average age of menopause is 51.

Your periods will not usually stop suddenly when you go through the menopause. They may start to become less frequent over a few months or years before stopping altogether.

Delaying your period

It’s possible to delay your period if you take the combined contraceptive pill.

How you do this depends on the type of combined pill you take. Speak to a GP or pharmacist, or a doctor or nurse at a sexual health clinic, about how to delay your period using the combined pill.

If you do not take the combined pill already, you will need to start it a few weeks before the time you want to delay your period.

If you do not want to take the contraceptive pill, your GP can prescribe a medicine called norethisterone to delay your periods, but this is not suitable for everyone.

Video: Menstrual cycle

This animation explains in detail how the menstrual cycle works.

Media last reviewed: 21 October 2023
Media review due: 21 October 2026

Page last reviewed: 05 January 2023
Next review due: 05 January 2026

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I Had Sex Two Days Before My Period And Now I’m Late

Overview – Periods

How Late Can a Period Be Before You Know You’re Pregnant?

Table of Contents:

Overview – Periods

When do periods start?

Period products