Though the first of the possible reasons for missing a period that any woman is likely to think about is pregnancy, the fact is that there are many other reasons why a woman may miss her period. Let us take a look at them; some of which you may have thought of, and others you may not have.
1. Stress can be one of the most significant reasons for missing a period. This stress could be caused by a life changing event such as relocating to a new place, change of job, bereavement, even a significant change in schedule, which would cause certain hormone levels in the body to drop.
2. Extreme caloric reduction can also cause absence or delay of periods. The body perceives fasting or anorexia type behavior as malnutrition and will switch to conserving resources by preventing menstruation.
This is the reason that women with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia or those who are very underweight menstruate irregularly or not at all.
3. Extreme exercising can also be one of the reasons for missing a period. Whether it is extreme exercise caused by an eating disorder or training of a professional athlete, individuals with very low body fat percentage could frequently miss a monthly cycle or two.
4. If weight loss or severe caloric restriction could cause a missed period, so can weight gain or obesity. Women who have put on very significant amounts of weight may find that their normal hormone production has been disturbed enough to mean a missed period.
5. Birth control method or other medications. There are several hormonal birth control methods that are known to reduce the frequency of periods very significantly.
6. Menopause and Perimenopause are one of the more obvious reasons for missing a period. Though the average age of menopause is 50, the early effects of menopause can start to occur as early as ten or more years before actual menopause.
7. Premature menopause or premature ovarian failure may also cause missed periods.
8. Sexually transmitted diseases could also cause an interruption in the usual menstrual cycle of a woman. Other infections of the pelvic organs or the reproductive organs could also mean missed periods.
9. Even certain diseases not related to the reproductive tract could cause disturbances in menstrual cycles of a woman.
10. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is one of the gynecological problems that could be the underlying reasons for missing a period.
11. Tumors or cancers can cause hormonal disruptions resulting in a skipped period. It isn’t just tumors present in the reproductive organs that could cause such symptoms, even pituitary tumors, prolactinoma, brain tumors and other tumors could cause missed periods.
12. Other hormonal imbalances within the body could also be a reason for missing a period.
Though the above list is by no means an exhaustive list of reasons for missing a period, it is a good indication that woman can miss a period due to one or more of many different reasons. It is important to determine the underlying reasons.
