Featured Question of the Month

Featured Question of the Month


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I got my period about 9 months ago. Every period since then has been about every 27 to 28 days. This month, I didn't get it at all. I am not sexually active, I'm not stressed, I do not have an eating disorder, I eat what everyone else eats every day, I am somewhat active, I have no pain anywhere, and I didn't gain/lose any weight.

I guess this is common for girls who just started, but why? Should I go and see a doctor?

Answer:

First of all, congratulations on knowing your stuff! You are absolutely correct that sexual activity, stress, nutrition, exercise and weight gain or loss can influence a girl's menstrual cycle. You are also right to say that irregular periods are common in girls during the year or two after they first start menstruating. The time between menses (periods) is usually around 28 days; the normal range in adults is anywhere from 21 to 34 days. But in girls who have just started getting their periods in the past year or so, menstrual cycles can vary from one cycle to the next. So it's not unusual or a sign of something wrong if a girl who recently started getting her period has a 28 day cycle for a couple of months, and then misses a month. It can take a girl's body awhile to settle into a more regular pattern.

Here's why: many of a girl's first several menstrual cycles are "anovulatory" cycles, which means that their periods are NOT preceded by ovulation (the release of an egg from the ovary). Healthy adult women release an egg from their ovaries on or about the midpoint of their cycle and experience bleeding 14 days later. When ovulation is regular, the interval between menstrual cycles is also regular, and the characteristics of the blood flow (number of days, heaviness or lightness of bleeding and amount of accompanying cramping) are also more consistent and predictable. And though it's true that most adult women have fairly regular cycles, some women do continue to have irregular cycles. Remember also that a period usually lasts 3 to 5 days, but can be anywhere from 2 to 7 days. However seeing a bit of red on your toilet paper and then never seeing any other blood doesn't really count as a period. Not every occasion of vaginal bleeding is considered a period.

When you're a bit older, and your body has sorted out all of the changes of puberty, you'll probably be able to better anticipate when you're going to get your period. In the meantime, keep track of your menstrual cycle on a calendar.

Given that your very first period was only 9 months ago, your overall good health coupled with the absence of any pain or discomfort and lack of any previous sexual activity means you don't need to go see your doctor about missing one period. You can safely wait to see what happens next month. Of course, the same advice would NOT apply if you were sexually active (even if only once), because then you would need to make sure you were not pregnant.

In general, other rules of thumb for when girls should see their doctors about menstrual issues include:

getting a period before the age of 10, or not having gotten a period by age 16
going more than 3 months between consecutive periods
having regular periods that then become irregular (especially after the first couple of years of getting your period)
having a lot of bleeding during the period (blood flow lasts longer than 7 days or is so heavy it soaks a pad or tampon more often than every 2 hours)
bleeding between their periods
having unusual abdominal or pelvic pain before or during their periods

This question was answered by Dr. Richelle deMayo in Pediatrics at the UConn Health Center.

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