Scarleteen

I'm confused about something -- I've read that periods can be late due to stress/illness/etc. (basically anything not to do with pregnancy or hormonal BC). I've also read that statement that this stress/illness/etc. can 'cause late/skipped ovulation'. Which leads to my question:

Would one have to be stressed/ill/etc. prior to ovulation? What if this occurred, say, a few days before a period was due? Could the stress/illness still cause a period to be skipped or late?

Thank you, and I hope my wording isn't too confusing :/!

Hi jae, and welcome to Scarleteen!

While it's true that stress before ovulation can cause a delay, it's also possible that ovulation is skipped entirely. Bodies aren't machines, and there are a lot of different factors that go into your body deciding that the time is right to ovulate. If pregnancy risk is not an issue, it could be possible that some stress affected ovulation and that the cycle is running a little late- or it could be because of exercise, diet, etc. This is especially true if someone's in their first five years of their menses- it can take a while for them to even out. If the missing periods persist or accompanied by any other unusual symptoms, that would be the time to check in with a healthcare provider, but otherwise, a missing/late period once in a while is just part of being a living thing!

I'm not quite sure either, but I've read somewhere that it should be during the time of your ovulation. I had once had a bad accident during the time of my ovulation. I missed my periods that month and I was worried. That's when I did a bit of a research and I found that if you are stressed or ill during the time of your ovulation, then it could get you miss your periods.