Period 10 Days Late White Discharge And Cramping: Am I Pregnant?

Question: Why is my period 10 days late with white discharge and abdominal cramps?

A delayed or early period can cause women to panic, especially after unprotected sexual intercourse.

If you’ve missed your period for ten days now, it’s normal to be anxious and wonder if you are pregnant or if something else is going on.

The truth is during pregnancy your menstrual period will stop coming. This is not abnormal and could be the reason your period is delayed for 10 days, especially if you’ve had unprotected sex or you are not on regular contraception.

Unsafe sexual intercourse without using protection or emergency contraception may result in pregnancy.

Alternatively, you should know there are other reasons for a 10-day late period. In fact, stress, not having enough rest, losing too much weight, thyroid problems, certain medications, and an emergency pill like Postinor can delay your period.

This article explains causes of 10 days late period, and when you ought to worry.

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Why is my period 10 days late?

Between your periods is your menstrual cycle, which can be determined by the number of days between 2 periods.

A lot of women will get their next period 28 days from the first day of the last period. Though it could come earlier or later and still be normal, most women will have a menstrual cycle ranging from 21 to 35 days, according to the NHS.

If your period is ten days late, it may simply mean your cycle is a bit longer this month, but it can also be a sign of pregnancy or another hormone change, especially if your cycles are usually very regular. Here are the possible causes.

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1. You are pregnant

After unprotected sex, it’s possible pregnancy may follow. In fact, pregnancy is the most common reason for a missed period in women of reproductive age.

Before pregnancy, hormones will control your menstrual cycle and result in cyclical menstruation that comes every month.

However, when pregnant, hormones like estrogen, progesterone and hCG (pregnancy hormone) will stop your period from coming.

Therefore, if you are expecting a baby after a series of unprotected sexual intercourse, a missed period that follows is not unusual.

Pregnancy signs may not be pronounced immediately after missing your period. Nevertheless, these are some symptoms you should watch out for:

• Abdominal cramping that is mild and low in your abdomen

• Feeling very weak and tired

• Your breast hurts with soreness

• You notice your breast is getting bigger

• You’re now overeating than usual or feel more hungry

• You are no longer interested in some meals or smells

• You are vomiting (especially in the morning)

The truth is you may have experienced and ignored these symptoms.

One early sign some women notice is light implantation spotting about 6–12 days after conception. This spotting is usually very light and may be pink or brown because the embryo has been implanted into the uterine lining. Many pregnant women never notice implantation bleeding at all.

If you want to read more about early pregnancy signs, you can check patient information from Cleveland Clinic – “Pregnancy: Am I Pregnant?”.

What step should I take?

If you have these symptoms listed above and you’ve missed your period for ten days now, it’s possible you are pregnant.

Do you experience breast pain, nipple itching, and mood swings? If yes, it is another way to know you may be pregnant.

However, the easiest way to confirm pregnancy is through a urine or blood pregnancy test.

A urine test can easily be carried out at home and involves purchasing your test kit online or from a pharmacy. A blood pregnancy test will need you to consult your physician.

You should know it’s possible you will still test negative if you test too early or if ovulation was later than usual. Most home urine pregnancy tests become reliable from the first day of a missed period, and almost all will be positive within about 1–2 weeks after the missed period if you are pregnant. If you are unsure, repeat the test after a few days or talk to your doctor.

If hCG hormones are rising normally and you still keep testing negative after repeating the test, here are other reasons for a late period.

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2. Thyroid hormone dysfunction

A high or low thyroid hormone will cause your body systems to function abnormally.

Thyroid hormones, T3 and T4, are produced by the thyroid gland located in front of your neck. These hormones are critical as they control many systems in your body.

Thyroid hormone helps control your breathing, muscle strength, body temperature, heartbeat and menstrual cycle.

If your thyroid hormones are excessively secreted (hyperthyroidism), or deficient (hypothyroidism), it may affect your period.

Women with hyperthyroidism may have their period delayed for some time. Other symptoms you could experience are a light menstrual period, sweating, weight loss, anxiety problems, and moodiness.

On the other hand, hypothyroidism will cause your periods to come too frequently or be heavy; other possible signs are lack of night rest, weight gain, dry skin and feeling depressed.

If your period is delayed for about 10 days with these symptoms, you should tell your doctor now. Your doctor may run blood tests to check for thyroid problems or other causes of missed periods (amenorrhea). You can read more about missed periods in the Cleveland Clinic amenorrhea overview.

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3. You had a stressful week

Because you are human, your body can get tired and react negatively.

If you do not give enough time to your health and get worked out for a long time, your body increases cortisol hormone production.

This hormone becomes elevated when you’re stressed and interferes with other hormones that regulate your menstrual cycle.

Estrogen and progesterone directly help prepare your uterus for menstruation by building up the endometrium that covers the inner uterus. They also help regulate ovulation (release of an egg from the ovary) and make your period regular.

A high level of cortisol can disturb these hormones and cause a delayed or absent period for days, weeks or sometimes months.

If you have already tested negative or never had unprotected sexual intercourse, it’s possible your cortisol levels increased due to stress, poor sleep, over-exercise, or under-eating.

Ways to help your period come back include exercising moderately, taking a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and finding time to relax. If you miss three periods in a row due to stress or lifestyle, see your doctor for a check-up.

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4. You had your baby terminated (Abortion)

It’s possible you never attempted to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex, got pregnant and had an abortion (medical or surgical).

If this happens, your hormones will get disrupted for a while and your period will not show up as usual.

In most women who undergo an abortion, it takes about 4–8 weeks for the normal period to return. Sometimes, if you’ve had a complication during a D & C, your period may be delayed too due to Asherman syndrome (scar tissue in the uterus).

A ten-day late period on its own is not unusual in the first cycle or two after an abortion. However, talk to your doctor if you have not seen a period by about 8 weeks, or if you develop severe pain, fever, foul-smelling discharge or very heavy bleeding. You can see more information in patient FAQs on ACOG – Early Pregnancy Loss.

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5. You had taken Postinor pills (emergency contraception)

Having sexual intercourse without a condom can result in pregnancy, especially if you are in your fertile window.

If your menstrual cycle is regular, you are more fertile in the days just before ovulation and around the time of ovulation, but this can shift from month to month. Using a “safe period” alone is less reliable than condoms or other regular contraception if you do not want to get pregnant.

It’s possible you can use Postinor pills (emergency contraception) to prevent pregnancy. These tablets contain levonorgestrel that helps prevent or delay ovulation and can make your next period come earlier or later.

Levonorgestrel emergency pills like Postinor work best when taken as soon as possible and within 72 hours after unprotected sex. Some medical guidance allows use up to 120 hours (5 days), but protection is lower the later you take it. Another emergency pill called ulipristal acetate and the copper IUD can also be used as emergency contraception. You can read more in the WHO fact sheet on emergency contraception and the NHS emergency contraception guide.

Therefore, if your period is late for ten days after taking these pills, you should not panic, but you should do a pregnancy test if your period is more than about one week later than expected, or if you have any pregnancy symptoms.

If you did not take Postinor pills within the recommended time after unprotected sex and missed your period, you should test to rule out pregnancy.

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Other causes of delayed period are:

• Severe weight loss

• Eating disorder

• Continuous oral contraceptive pills or changing pills

• Breastfeeding

• Chronic illness

• Years before menopause (perimenopause)

• Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

If your periods keep coming late or you miss them for several months, you should see a doctor or gynecologist.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Period 10 days late white discharge, what does it mean?

If your period is delayed for a day or two, it may not mean a serious problem because hormones can sometimes fluctuate due to stress, sleep deprivation, strenuous exercise, and weight loss.

However, if your period is 10 days late with white or milky discharge, one common cause is early pregnancy. Rising estrogen and progesterone in early pregnancy can stimulate your body to discharge more.

Normal vaginal discharge is usually clear or white, does not have a strong or bad smell, and may change in amount throughout your cycle and in pregnancy. You can read more in the Cleveland Clinic guide to vaginal discharge.

If your discharge is associated with itching, burning, a strong or fishy smell, cottage-cheese-like clumps, pain during sex or urination, or blood-staining, it may be due to infections like yeast infection, bacterial vaginosis, or sexually transmitted infections. In that case, you should see a doctor for examination and tests.

Period 10 days late and cramping, Am I pregnant?

During early pregnancy, mild lower abdominal cramps or a pulling sensation can be normal. This occurs because you now have elevated hormones and increased uterine blood supply and the uterus is slowly stretching.

Cramping during pregnancy could also sometimes be due to a vaginal infection, ectopic pregnancy, or a miscarriage. Any cramping with heavy bleeding, clots, strong one-sided pain, shoulder pain, dizziness, fainting, fever, or foul discharge needs urgent medical attention. You can learn more about warning signs in ACOG’s patient FAQ on early pregnancy loss.

If your period is now late and your home test is positive, see a doctor or antenatal clinic to confirm the pregnancy and rule out ectopic pregnancy if you have pain.

If your period is now late and you repeatedly test negative, cramping may be caused by pelvic inflammatory disease, urinary tract infection, irritable bowel, or ovarian cyst pain, or your period may simply be about to start. You should see your doctor if:

• Your pain is moderate to severe

• Pain lasts more than a few days

• You have pain with fever, vomiting or painful urination

• You have pain with abnormal discharge or bleeding

Your doctor will examine you and may order tests and an ultrasound scan to find the cause.