Late Period & Negative Pregnancy Tests: Possible Causes & What to Do

Question
I'm a 26 year old healthy women. Last month my period came 7 days late confirming of course that I wasn't pregnant. Until last month I have had a VERY regular cycle, coming every 28 days like clock work! This month I'm experiencing all the same problems as last. I'm now 5 days late again, and again having negative pregnancy tests. Could it be possible that I ovulated late in August and I could be pregnant and that the test would still be to early to confirm or could my cycle be changing after all these years?


Answer
The best time to take a pregnancy test is seven days after missing your period. If you have a normal 28 day cycle (from the first day of your period until the first day of your next period) ovulation occurs on cycle day #14. You can only become pregnant if you have unprotected sex on cycle day #13,14,15, or 16. If you do become pregnant on one of those days, a pregnancy test will not show a positive result until 14-21 days later. At that time, a pregnancy test is pretty accurate. If it is negative, you are not pregnant.