Delayed Period After Postpartum: Possible Pregnancy or Other Causes?

Question
Hello. I have a 3 month old son & I hadmy first regular period which started the 8th of October. I have not had a period since then. Pre-Baby my periods were always on time no matter what. I had unprotected sex the day before I ovulated on October 21st and on October 22nd(the day I ovulated) my husband pulled out. I am currently two weeks late but all the home pregnancy test I have taken(10 in all) have come up negative. But still no period!! Please help me figure out whether I am pregnant or just having a period problem!! Thank you so much!!

Answer
Dear Tiffany,

Well - the fact that you had unprotected sex within the few days of your ovulation date puts you at risk for pregnancy. Sperm cells can survive up to five days once past the cervix. Also - pulling out, or withdrawal, has historically been unreliable as a method of birth control exclusively. This is because pre-ejaculate (the little bit of semen that seeps out prior to ejaculation) can have a high concentration of sperm cells contained within it.

So, although sometimes it can take a bit for a normal cycle pattern to resume after a pregnancy/delivery - we know you were definitely susceptible to conceiving a pregnancy during that last cycle. Now for the testing... Although some tests claim accuracy on the first day of a missed period, I usually suggest that women wait until the week after a missed or spotty period before testing for pregnancy. This tends to minimize the incidence of false negative results and also avoids wasting money on a test for a simple delay of a period by a few days. When you test you should make sure you are using 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results.

I never suggest testing any more often than every 5-7 days. If you re-test, I would recommend that you wait at least that long between tests. If those results are negative, you can either wait for the next cycle to see if your periods resume or have your doctor's office do a quantitative blood pregnancy test (serum beta hCG). That test will give an actual amount of hCG in your bloodstream rather than just a positive/negative result. Any amount of 25 mIU/ml or more would be considered positive for pregnancy.

I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.

Brenda