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Dear Aunt Vadge,
My boyfriend and I are sexually active and always use a condom. My period is pretty regular – it comes on the 27th each month – but this month it’s four days late and I’m getting really worried. Could I be pregnant? I’ve had all my usual period symptoms (break-outs, tender swollen breasts, bloating, lower back pain), but no actual period yet.
Sincerely,
Late
Dear Late,
Two things together should ease your mind a lot. First, consistent, correct condom use is a very effective contraceptive, so as long as the condom didn’t break or slip off, your pregnancy risk is low.
Second – and this is the reassuring bit – you’re having all your normal pre-period symptoms: the break-outs, tender breasts, bloating and lower back pain are your body’s usual run-up to a period, and they suggest one is on its way rather than that you’re pregnant.
A period being four days late is extremely common and rarely means anything; stress (including the stress of worrying you might be pregnant), a minor illness, travel, or simply ovulating a little later than usual one month can all push it back.
So the sensible plan is simple: give it a few more days, because it will very likely just arrive. If you’d like certainty sooner, or if it reaches about a week late, take a home pregnancy test – at that point a test is accurate and will settle the question definitively, which is far kinder to your nerves than guessing.
And if your period stays away despite a negative test, or you start missing periods regularly, see your doctor to look into why. But the most likely story here, with condoms used every time and your usual PMS in full swing, is a slightly late period that’s about to turn up.
Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
