Why is my period late and the pregnancy test negative?
These are both seemingly contradicting situations. Hence, we should look at two scenarios. First, consider why your period is late if you are not pregnant. And the second consider why your pregnancy test is negative if you have actually missed a period and are pregnant. These are only guidelines and you must consult your doctor or have a blood pregnancy test done to confirm either situation.
Reasons for why your period might be late or missed.
There are various reasons for your period to be late and the pregnancy test to be negative. As far as your period being late, are many possibilities for explaining a missed or delayed period. In most women of childbearing age, pregnancy is the first guess. If your pregnancy test is negative and you are sure that you are not pregnant, here are some other causes for missed or delayed periods that you could consider:
- Stress is major cause of missed or delayed periods. Stress interferes with the normal hormonal signals from your brain and it can block ovulation. This causes your cycles to become irregular.
- Thyroid problems also, again by interfering with the normal hormonal pathways, can lead to a late period.
- Being overweight or underweight can also interfere with your normal menstrual cycle.
- If you are on birth control pills or DepoProvera, the medication itself may make periods disappear. It is okay to not have periods when you are taking these medications, but it is not okay to not have periods without any medicines.
- In most women, premature menopause is a very remote possibility. A measurement of the FSH blood level on the third day of your cycle will give clues as to whether you should consider menopause as a probable cause.
If your period does not arrive within a couple of weeks, you can repeat the pregnancy test and make an appointment with your gynecologist. Usually after a discussion of your medical history, a physical exam and perhaps a couple of blood tests, the reason for missed periods can be identified and corrected.
Reasons for a negative pregnancy test.
Also, keep in mend that home pregnancy tests are not fool proof. There is a chance that you have missed your period and are actually pregnant. If this is so, then your pregnancy test result is a false negative. A false negative result can be caused due to many reasons, like :
- Early detection attempt
One reason for a false negative pregnancy test could be that you took the test too early. Pregnancy tests vary in their sensitivity which means how soon they can detect the hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) in your urine. It is possible that although your ovum might be fertilized, meaning you may be pregnant, but your body has not started secreting enough Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) for the test to measure. Your body needs time for the hormone to rise to a high enough level to be detected in a test.
- Erratic technique
There is a possibility that while using the home pregnancy test strip you either did not dip it well or did not hold it well in your urine stream. This error in technique may give false negative results.
- Missed reaction time
For accuracy in home pregnancy tests it is essential that you read the test results in the stipulated reaction time. If you let the test sit for too long (after the instructions on the box tell you), the test is invalid. This may cause it to show false negative results.
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