facebook

Is There a Link Between Missed Periods and Infertility?

When an infertile woman gets her period late, she tends to become more hopeful that she is pregnant, but the pregnancy test shows up negative. This is one of the most frustrating things an infertile woman can experience. There are a number of reasons why this occurs, such as:

  • A poorly executed pregnancy test
  • Stress
  • Weight loss.

When you are trying to conceive and you miss your period, you start getting excited because you feel that you have finally conceived. When you do the pregnancy test, you are very hopeful. At times, you may not want to do the pregnancy test because you don’t think you would be able to handle a negative result.  If the test comes back negative, you get disheartened, are disappointed and depressed. But then you start wondering various things:

  • Whether the test was done correctly
  • Maybe you drank too much water and that’s why the hCG isn’t showing up in the urine
  • Maybe the test was done too soon
  • You probably ovulated late this cycle
  • The brand might not have been reliable
  • Can’t these tests be fallible?
  • It may have been an expired kit
  • You may want to do the test one more time
  • You think of using another brand
  • But, what if the test shows up negative multiple times? A late period and recurring negative pregnancy test results can lead to a great deal of stress, worry and confusion. You start wondering about why you haven’t got your period, if you aren’t pregnant and whether you have stopped ovulating all together
  • You start wondering what has happened to your eggs and whether your body has gone crazy

Some facts

There are different things that may have occurred:

  • One possibility is that you are in fact pregnant, but the urine test result comes back negative. This is referred to as a "false negative pregnancy test". Read all the instructions one more time & make sure you are doing the test properly.
  • If this shows up positive, it means the false negative result may have showed up because the test kit you are using is of low sensitivity.
  • It’s best to do a blood test to check your HCG level. This is very reliable! If this is less than 10 mIU/ml, this confirms you are definitely not pregnant. In case the test is negative, it means the reason you missed your periods is because you did not ovulate. This is called anovulation
  • Factors such as stress, anxiety, travel, jet-lag, weight loss, exercise and sleeplessness can cause a missed period as they disrupt your hormonal balance.

The doctor may have to do an ultrasound to find out why you’ve missed your period. The scan will check for:

Based on these results, the doctor may prescribe medications for you to induce a period.

Not happy with the attention you are getting from your IVF clinic? Need more information? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so that I can guide you!

drmalpani