Reasons For Missed Period. For most sexually active women, a missed period can mean only one thing: pregnancy. This possibility can be either a welcome or an unwelcome development depending on one's mental readiness for procreation.

However, pregnancy is not the only reason that women experience a missed period. Menstruation is a complex process with many factors with each factor influencing the process in different ways from one woman to the next. Here are the most common reasons for missing a menstruation period aside from pregnancy.

Reasons For Missed Period #1
Stress
Physical and mental stress affects many aspects of life including the amounts and types of hormones produced. In a woman, stress can lessen the production of GnRH, a hormone that plays an important role in ovulation and menstruation. Being relaxed often brings back your normal menstruation back on track.

Reasons For Missed Period #2
Underlying Illness
Women who have diseases that affect their reproductive organs or their brains will often miss their periods. This is also true for sudden and short bursts of illnesses although the missed periods are often temporary in nature.

Reasons For Missed Period #3
Eating Disorders
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia, both of which are eating disorders, affect millions of people most of whom are adolescent girls and young adult women. Such is the severity of malnutrition, stress and weight loss that the body essentially starts to slow down on many vital functions including menstruation. If you as well as your family and friends believe that you are suffering from an eating disorder, you must immediately seek a doctor's help.

Reasons For Missed Period #4
Change in Daily Schedule
A missed period can also be caused by drastic changes in your daily schedule. For example, if you change your work schedule from days to night and vice-versa, your internal body clock adjusts and affects your reproductive system.

Reasons For Missed Period #5
Medications
Women on chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer can also miss their periods. Certain medications also bring about changes in the menstruation cycle especially those that contain hormones.

Reasons For Missed Period #6
Being Overweight or Underweight
The reproductive system can be thrown off guard, in a manner of speaking, when the body itself is either overweight or underweight. Keep in mind that the organs of the body are closely connected to each other. Usually, either losing the excess weight or gaining more weight resolves the problem of irregular menstruation periods in a few months.

Reasons For Missed Period #7
Excessive Exercise
Among women athletes engaged in strenuous training programs, missing a period is all too common. This is because the body wants to conserve energy during physically and mentally strenuous activities, of which less frequent periods is one effective way to achieve the purpose. The normal menstruation cycle usually returns within a few months after the strenuous physical training has stopped.

Reasons For Missed Period #8
Birth Control
Many birth control methods particularly those where hormones are involved cause missed periods. Depo-Provera, Norplant and mini-pills are often the most common culprits. However, if you believe that you may be pregnant, you should consult a doctor just to be sure.

Reasons For Missed Period #9
Amenorrhea
Yet another medical condition that can cause missed periods is amenorrhea. There are two types: first, amenorrhea primary happens when you are already over 16 years old and you have yet to menstruate; and, second, amenorrhea secondary means that your menstruation came at the right age and then it stops for at least 6 months. Consult with your doctor to determine the cause of your amenorrhea and then implement a treatment plan.

Reasons For Missed Period #10
Peri-Menopause and Menopause
Last, you may be experiencing the most common sign of peri-menopause and menopause itself.

Indeed, before you whip yourself up into frenzy over the possibility of being pregnant because of a missed period, you should consider the abovementioned causes first.

Take our Early Signs Of Pregnancy Quiz, Online Pregnancy Test or Pregnancy Quiz to see what if you could be pregnant.