Another "Pregnant? or just Stress-induced missed period?" question
The start of my most recent period was on Feb 26 - projected ovulation date being March 14, projected next period March 28 (via MyMonthlyCycles, where I have been keeping track of my period for 1 year). Average cycle - 30 days.
We had protected intercourse on March 3 and 24. The condom didn't break; slipped down maybe an inch but we pushed it right back up.
Now my period is 3 or 4 days late (depending if you count the 28th), with no usual signs of cramping etc that I normally get. Took two HPT's and both came out negative. Discharge looks normal, no tenderness of breasts or anything. I have had a little bit of an upset stomach but I think I may just be getting sick - I am under quite a bit of stress.
I know it's unlikely that I am pregnant, but I am paranoid since I can't afford to have a child right now. I have heard that stress really can throw off a regular period (I have been regular for 8 years now), but I have a hard time believing it since I am so paranoid... help? I don't know what's wrong with me!
Have a GYNO appt coming up in a month, but I'm the type of person who likes to know without going to the doc! It sure would be nice if my period would come!
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Hi! I am very worried I might be pregnant. I had sex on day 33 of my cycle and my cycle usually runs between 28 to 32 days. So I was due for my period right then. However, I am now on day 39 of my cycle and still no period. That's at least a week late. What are the chances that I'm pregnant, and would a hpt give results yet? The anxiety is overwhelming.
Hi, Anon, and welcome to EmpowHer. Thanks for your question.
The fact that he didn't ejaculate in you makes the chances of your being pregnant much lower, but that chance still exists. Men have something called "preejaculate," which comes out of their penises before ejaculation. Generally, withdrawal has a 25% failure rate over the course of a year, which means that of all couples using withdrawal as their birth control, 25% of them do become pregnant within a year. So the chance is still there. But it's more remote than if he were to have ejaculated inside you.
I think it's even more remote since you had sex on day 33 of your cycle. Personally, I am guessing that you are just late due to stress or change in your life, the heat, an increase in activity or a change in diet -- many things along those lines affect our hormones and can change our cycles.
But if you want to take a HPT to make sure, yes, by now it should be able to give you a good result. Many HPTs are set up to give you a result within 1 to 2 days after a missed period. HPTs measure for something called HGC, a hormone that is only found in pregnant women. They are sensitive enough to measure for small amounts.
Here's my question for you: If you pay for an HPT and it's negative, will you believe it? Or will you just think that maybe you should have waited longer to take it? Because if that's the case, you will waste your money on the test. We've had some questions lately from women who have taken tests more than once but still believe they might be pregnant. The truth is that until that period comes, we always feel a little anxiety about it, no matter how much it doesn't seem possible.
Do you need more information about birth control? Have you considered seeing a gynecologist or going to a clinic to have a checkup and get on some form of birth control? Or, at the very least, buying condoms so that you will have even less of a chance of pregnancy (and of sexually transmitted diseases)?
In addition to the above post, I know this isn't a foolproof method, but he did not ejaculate in me.
Hello, please help i am a guy who is very stressed out and so is my girlfriend. She is 4 days late, which is not much, but she says she is very regular and was not stressed before her missed period, but is extremely stressed now. We didnt have sex, the only things that i can think of that would be risky were that we took a shower together, although there was no contact "down there," and i used my fingers to pleasure her but had no preejaculation on them at all. One time, i did ejaculate on her breasts but she had pants on, and we wiped it off right away after. We are both really stressed out now, and i was just wondering if you had any reassuring words. thanks
Hey there, Anon. I'm sorry you're stressed out, but I'm glad you found us.
Nothing that you wrote makes me think your girlfriend could or would be pregnant. It would be extremely, extremely unlikely, if not impossible. In order for her to be pregnant, some pre-ejaculate or ejaculate must find its way into her vagina, and honestly, I can't see how that would have happened if everything happened the way you say that it did.
You know, there are a lot of times when, out of the blue, we'll suddenly be late. Even when we are very regular. It's because we can't really control our hormones, and when they change, so does our cycle, even a little bit. If your girlfriend's estrogen or progesterone got a little off, that can be responsible for a late period. Extreme stress can even result in a mixed period. Other things that affect us are the heat, increased activity, a change in medication or diet, things like that.
I understand why you are both stressed, since she's normally regular. But from what you say, I can't see how she would have gotten pregnant. I would guess that it's just an unexplained late period. It does happen. And she might go right back to being regular after this, or she might be irregular for a few months and then get regular again. I might also say that if she's this late, she may go another few days before her period comes. I know it's easy for me to say "don't worry," so I'll say this: Don't worry AS MUCH. Worry just a tiny bit. I don't think anything's wrong.
Since you are intimate with one another, have you considered birth control, so you don't have to experience this sort of anxiety?