BREASTFEEDING
If you’re breastfeeding you may not see your period for some time, since prolactin — the hormone responsible for breast milk production — also suppresses ovulation. Many moms don’t have a period for months (or at all) while breastfeeding. But lack of a period doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant. Remember, ovulation occurs before you get your period. It’s possible for you to ovulate and then get pregnant before you ever see your period. So if you don’t want back-to-back babies, use protection. Your period should return within about six to eight weeks after weaning your child. If you haven’t gotten a period three months after you stop breastfeeding, talk to your doctor.
MEDICATION
Probably the most common medication to cause menstrual changes is birth control. Hormonal contraceptives such as the pill or patch work by stopping the body from ovulating — and no ovulation means no period. But what about that monthly bleeding you have while using one of these methods? What you’re really experiencing is withdrawal bleeding, a “fake” period caused by the drop in hormones when you take the placebo pills in your pack or go patch-free during the fourth week of your cycle. Sometimes, though, the birth control suppresses the hormones so much that you have very light bleeding or no period at all during that week off. And some pills are even designed to stop your period for a longer amount of time (three months or more). Other hormonal birth controls, such as the Depo-Provera shot or the Mirena IUD, thin the lining of the uterus to such a degree that there may be no lining to shed monthly as a period.
Emergency contraception, or the “morning after pill,” can also affect when you ovulate (or stop it altogether), so if you’ve taken it recently you may experience a late or skipped period (bring this up with your doctor).
Some other medications that can cause a delayed or missed period are antidepressants, some antipsychotics, corticosteroids and chemotherapy drugs.
If you’ve recently gone off the pill in the hopes of getting pregnant, you you may notice that it might take a month or so for your cycle to regulate itself — in which case a skipped period might just be your system is getting back on track. If you’re not sure whether a missed period means you’re expecting, visit your doctor.
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