QuestionI am 26 years old and went off my birth control in July in an attempt to get pregnant. My period has been late every month but my last period was in the middle of September. I have taken numerous tests and they all come out negative. When I was on the pill my period was regular and lasted a week. Last week I noticed some bleeding but it was gone after I finished using the restroom. Could it be that my hormones are messed up and should I go to my ObGyn to get them straightened out? Also what is the average length of time it takes a woman my age to get pregnant? Thank you for your help.
AnswerDear Rebecca,
Sorry about the delay in answering - I am actually supposed to be on vacation, but the system apparently did not set correctly. I happened to check in to make sure and saw there were three days worth of questions, so I will attempt some short answers while I have a house full of company going in thirty different directions around me! :-)
The average length of time it takes for couples who are actively trying to conceive is approximately 5-6 months/cycles. If a woman's cycle is irregular, that typically means that ovulation is irregular as well and it can make it more challenging to figure out when ovulation DOES occur and it can lengthen the time that it takes for conception to happen.
If your period is simply "late" every month, that may just mean that your cycles are longer than the typical 28 days that you got used to while on the BCP. If that is the case, just count the day from beginning of one period to the beginning of the next for the past few cycles (if you've kept track). The length of your cycles will affect when you ovulate.
For example, if the average length of your cycles is 35 days, you are likely ovulating around approximately cycle day 21. We expect that women will ovulate approximately 14 days prior to the beginning of the start of their next period. If this were the case, I would then suggest having sex every other day from cycle day 17-25. If you can more closely determine your ovulation dates based on your own personal cycle lengths, you can re-adjust when you are having your sexual encounters and may have more success.
If you are concerned about your hormone levels, you can go in to have your hormone levels checked, but at this point, if you are having periods every month - even if they are longer than 28 days apart - that would not really indicate a problem.
I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well and a Merry Christmas.
Brenda
