A major populace of women experiences eleven to thirteen menstrual cycles annually. This number might vary, with some having more or lesser fewer menstrual periods. skipped periods are normally irregular in an initial couple of years after menstruation initially commencing. The hormones that control menstruation might require many years to attain a kind of balance.
Menstrual periods tend to become quite erratic during the concluding years of menstruation, with many women are reaching the perimenopausal and menopausal phases. During this phase, the otherwise normally occurring periods abruptly turn irregular in nature. Menopause is known to happen when one has not had any menstrual periods for the past twelve months.
A skipped periods is mostly an indicator of pregnancy. If one could be pregnant, then one needs to treat oneself as pregnant till one can get some form of confirmation. A home pregnancy test is a preliminary step for detecting the presence of pregnancy.
If pregnancy is not diagnosed, then the other underlying reasons leading to skipped periods comprise of:
- Unwarranted reduction or increase in weight. Though low body weight is the principal reason behind skipped periods, being obese could lead to a host of menstrual problems.
- Faulty eating patterns due to being either anorexic or bulimic.
- The heightened level of workout or increased exercising could also lead to skipped periods—a commonly cited occurrence amongst endurance sportspersons.
- Emotional turmoil or distress.
- Some form of ailment.
- Travel.
- Medications like hormonal contraceptive methods might lead to the flow becoming slightly lighter with either lesser or more frequency, missed periods, or total cessation of the periods.
- Hormonal problems could lead to major fluctuations in hormones that the body requires to maintain menstruation.
- Illegal drug usage.
- Problems occur in the pelvic region’s organs like imperforate hymen (hymen without an opening), PCOD or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or the presence of Asherman’s syndrome (inflammation of the uterine lining due to scar tissue present in the uterine wall).
- Several women who breastfeed do not regain their normal periods till they have stopped it. One needs to be vigilant as one could still have a likelihood of pregnancy despite no menstruation; hence it is vital to follow birth control practices if one does not desire to get pregnant.
- Premature ovarian failure occurs when one stops getting periods before reaching 40 years of age. Surgical intervention, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy to the abdominal and pelvic region could additionally lead to premature ovarian failure.
- The presence of other ailments like IBS or irritable bowel syndrome, tuberculosis, liver ailment, and diabetes could also lead to skipped or irregular periods, though this is quite atypical. However, if there is a presence of any of these ailments, one would generally experience other signs and menstrual abnormalities.
In case one has missed a period, one needs to unwind and try to restore emotional and physical stability that would be beneficial. Several women have occasional occurrences of skipped periods. Except if one is pregnant, one’s cycle would most probably return to normal by the next month.
