Late period

[ilovepuppies]

Hi,
So last month my period was late by 3 days and I got on cycle day 32. This month, I haven’t engaged in any sexual activity and I haven’t gotten it and it’s cycle day 30. I know I’m not always gonna have a “perfect” period of 28 days but I’m just scared that somehow I’m at risk of anything as I have engaged in activity last month and months prior, but I’ve been getting my period every month after. As I said prior to my period this month, I haven’t engaged in any activity. I’m trying to calm myself down as periods can be late all the time but as I’ve been getting my period, technically I can’t be pregnant from the months prior right? Also for the activity, I only had protected sex once in September and that’s been the only sexual activity I’ve done.

[Nadine E.]

Hi again ilovepuppies,

We encourage you to check out the resources we've shared with you before to address your concerns on pregnancy and periods, if you haven't already. I'm sharing them here again:

• The Pregnancy Panic Companion
• Can I Get Pregnant, or Get or Pass On an STI From That?
• Human Reproduction: A Seafarer's Guide

And as Heather mentioned, it seems like it would also be helpful to explore what's activating your anxiety around this since we've already addressed your questions and you still seem to be worried.

[Heather]

100% agree with Nadine here.

I want to add that there is also no such thing as a “perfect 28 day cycle.” That whole idea actually comes from a very poorly (and very racist, too!) and shockingly amateur science project of sorts in the 1940s. You can look up “Norma” and the American Museum of Natural History if you’re curious about that.

In reality, there are about three different most common patterns of cycles for people, and even those contain a world of variation.

There’s really no “three days late” for any period, only days later than one might expect it. But again, circling back to what Nadine said, I think you’re focusing on the wrong thing: instead of focusing on your periods, which you can’t control, I’d focus on how you are feeling with this anxiety and try and sort out what you can do to manage it with the things you can control.