Pregnancy and 19 Other Causes, Symptoms to Watch For

Periods can last anywhere from three to seven days, but your “normal” period is whatever is typical for you. If it suddenly changes, it may be due to a change in schedule, birth control, pregnancy, or stress.

Here’s what to watch for and when to see your doctor.

It’s normal for your menstrual cycle to change at different times in your life.

Puberty

During puberty, your hormone levels begin to fluctuate on a monthly cycle. It takes a few years for these hormones to develop a regular schedule. In the meantime, they can be irregular, leading to shorter or longer periods.

Other menstrual symptoms common during puberty include:

• irregular periods
• light or heavy bleeding
• missed periods
• two periods per month

Perimenopause

Perimenopause is the time leading up to your final period. During this time, your hormone production decreases and periods typically become irregular.

Your periods may be shorter or longer than usual. You may also experience:

• missed periods
• light or heavy bleeding
• irregular periods
• fewer periods per year

Changes in your daily routine can impact your hormone levels and cause irregular periods.

Stress

Stress takes a toll on your whole body, including your ability to produce hormones. When your hormone levels are affected by stress, it isn’t uncommon for your period to become irregular. This may include less days spent bleeding.

Other symptoms of stress include:

• anxiety
• fatigue
• insomnia
• weight loss

Excessive exercise or athletic activity

When you exercise excessively, it’s easy to burn more calories than you eat. If this goes on for weeks or months, your body will enter starvation mode.

Your body will begin to use all of its remaining fuel (calories) to perform critical functions, like keeping your heart beating, at the expensive of other functions, like producing reproductive hormones.

When your hormone levels decrease, it can cause irregular or missed periods.

Excessive physical activity can also cause:

• mood swings
• tiring more easily
• getting sick more often
• unintentional weight loss

Significant weight changes

Any significant changes in weight can disrupt your normal hormone levels. Following gastric bypass surgery and extreme dieting, many women experience irregular periods.

Excess body fat can also affect estrogen levels, which means obesity can impact your menstrual cycle.

Other side effects of major weight changes include:

• headaches
• fatigue
• missed periods

Eating disorder

Eating disorders that involve extreme calorie restriction can affect the body’s ability to produce reproductive hormones. A very low body fat percentage can also disrupt normal hormone levels. This can cause irregular, short, or missed periods.

Other symptoms of eating disorders include:

• extreme thinness
• low self-esteem
• distorted body image

Many common medications can affect your hormone levels and change your menstrual cycle.

Hormonal birth control

Hormonal birth control methods contain hormones that directly affect when and how you ovulate. When you start birth control for the first time or switch to a different kind, it’s normal to experience some changes to your menstrual cycle.

You may experience shorter periods or irregular periods for a few months, until your body gets used to the new medication.

Other side effects commonly seen with the pill, the birth control shot, and the hormonal IUD include:

• cramping
• spotting
• headaches

Other medications

Certain prescription medications can interfere with your body’s hormones and cause irregular periods.

Medications that cause irregular periods include those for:

• thyroid disease
• anxiety
• epilepsy
• inflammation

There are several underlying conditions that can affect your hormone levels and cause you to have shorter periods than normal.

Ectopic pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilized egg implants itself in an area of the body other than the uterus. Ectopic pregnancies often cause vaginal bleeding that may be mistaken for a period.

Other signs of an ectopic pregnancy include:

• abdominal pain
• dizziness
• shoulder pain

Implantation

Implantation is when a fertilized egg embeds itself in the wall of your uterus. It occurs about one to two weeks after inception. In some cases, it can cause minor vaginal bleeding that may be mistaken for a short period.

Implantation often occurs before you miss a period and develop other symptoms of pregnancy.

Miscarriage

A miscarriage is an event that results in the loss of embryonic tissue or a fetus during pregnancy. Miscarriages often take place before women know that they’re pregnant, which is why they’re often mistaken for periods.

A short, unexpected period could be a miscarriage.

Other symptoms of miscarriage include:

• spotting or bleeding
• passing fluid or tissue from the vagina
• abdominal pain

Pregnancy

Periods stop during pregnancy, but it isn’t unusual for there to be spotting or light bleeding in the first trimester of pregnancy. Up to one in four women experience some bleeding during pregnancy.

Other symptoms of pregnancy include:

• sore or swollen breasts
• nausea
• vomiting
• missed period
• cravings or aversion to foods or smells

Breastfeeding

The hormone that helps you to produce breastmilk, prolactin, also stops you from ovulating. If you’re breastfeeding day and night, your period may not return for several months after giving birth.

When your period does return, it may be irregular and shorter or longer than usual.

When breastfeeding, you may also experience:

• missed periods
• months between periods
• changes in period duration
• light bleeding or spotting at first

Ovarian cyst

An ovarian cyst is a fluid-filled sac inside the ovary. While these cysts aren’t cancerous, they can sometimes be painful or cause bleeding. A bleeding cyst may be mistaken for a short period.

Most ovarian cysts have no symptoms, but they can sometimes cause abdominal pain, particularly if they’re large or if they rupture.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

PCOS can cause your body to produce more male sex hormones than normal. This hormonal imbalance often causes irregular periods, missed periods, or short periods.

Other symptoms of PCOS include:

• unwanted or excessive facial hair
• acne
• deeper voice
• difficulty getting pregnant

Thyroid disorder

Thyroid disorders cause the body to produce too much or too little thyroid hormone. Thyroid disease affects about one in eight women.

Thyroid hormone plays an important role in your menstrual cycle and can cause a variety of menstrual irregularities, including short periods.

Symptoms of thyroid disorder vary depending on which type you have, but may include:

• weight loss or gain
• trouble sleeping or sleepiness
• fast heart rate or slow heart rate
• lighter or heavier than normal periods

Rarely, short periods are caused by a more serious condition.

Premature ovarian failure (POF)

POF is when you go into early menopause. POF is rare, affecting only 1 in 1,000 women under the age of 29 and 1 in 100 women between ages 30 and 39.

If your ovaries fail, it means you no longer produce the necessary hormones to become pregnant. Your periods may become irregular and then stop entirely. POF may also cause:

• hot flashes
• missed periods
• irregular periods
• vaginal dryness

Asherman syndrome

Asherman syndrome is a rare condition in which scar tissue develops in the uterus. This typically presents after a surgical procedure.

Uterine scar tissue may block the flow of your period, causing irregular or missed periods.

Other symptoms include:

• missed periods
• difficult conceiving
• miscarriages
• cramping without bleeding

Cervical stenosis

Cervical stenosis is the abnormal narrowing of the cervix, which is very rare. It typically happens as a complication of surgery. When the cervix narrows, your mensural flow is obstructed. It may cause missed periods and abdominal pain.

Sheehan’s syndrome

Sheehan’s syndrome is a complication of childbirth that occurs when a woman loses large amounts of blood or experiences severe low blood pressure. It’s very rare in advanced countries where people have access to medical treatment.

Sheehan’s syndrome interferes with the body’s ability to produce pituitary hormones. Low hormone levels lead to absent or infrequent periods.

Other symptoms include:

• difficulty breastfeeding
• difficulty regrowing shaved pubic hair
• low blood pressure
• weight gain
• fatigue

If you’re pregnant or suspect you could be pregnant, you should seek emergency medical treatment if you have any unusual bleeding.

Otherwise, you can typically wait two to three months before seeing your doctor. This will allow your menstrual cycle time to reset and return to normal.

Consider tracking your periods during this time. Make sure you note your period’s start and stop dates, along with details about when bleeding is heavy or light. Your doctor can use this information to help make a diagnosis.

Pregnancy and 19 Other Causes, Symptoms to Watch For

Periods can last anywhere from three to seven days, but your “normal” period is whatever is typical for you. If it suddenly changes, it may be due to a change in schedule, birth control, pregnancy, or stress.

Here’s what to watch for and when to see your doctor.

It’s normal for your menstrual cycle to change at different times in your life.

Puberty

During puberty, your hormone levels begin to fluctuate on a monthly cycle. It takes a few years for these hormones to develop a regular schedule. In the meantime, they can be irregular, leading to shorter or longer periods.

Other menstrual symptoms common during puberty include:

• irregular periods
• light or heavy bleeding
• missed periods
• two periods per month

Perimenopause

Perimenopause is the time leading up to your final period. During this time, your hormone production decreases and periods typically become irregular.

Your periods may be shorter or longer than usual. You may also experience:

• missed periods
• light or heavy bleeding
• irregular periods
• fewer periods per year

Changes in your daily routine can impact your hormone levels and cause irregular periods.

Stress

Stress takes a toll on your whole body, including your ability to produce hormones. When your hormone levels are affected by stress, it isn’t uncommon for your period to become irregular. This may include less days spent bleeding.

Other symptoms of stress include:

• anxiety
• fatigue
• insomnia
• weight loss

Excessive exercise or athletic activity

When you exercise excessively, it’s easy to burn more calories than you eat. If this goes on for weeks or months, your body will enter starvation mode.

Your body will begin to use all of its remaining fuel (calories) to perform critical functions, like keeping your heart beating, at the expensive of other functions, like producing reproductive hormones.

When your hormone levels decrease, it can cause irregular or missed periods.

Excessive physical activity can also cause:

• mood swings
• tiring more easily
• getting sick more often
• unintentional weight loss

Significant weight changes

Any significant changes in weight can disrupt your normal hormone levels. Following gastric bypass surgery and extreme dieting, many women experience irregular periods.

Excess body fat can also affect estrogen levels, which means obesity can impact your menstrual cycle.

Other side effects of major weight changes include:

• headaches
• fatigue
• missed periods

Eating disorder

Eating disorders that involve extreme calorie restriction can affect the body’s ability to produce reproductive hormones. A very low body fat percentage can also disrupt normal hormone levels. This can cause irregular, short, or missed periods.

Other symptoms of eating disorders include:

• extreme thinness
• low self-esteem
• distorted body image

Many common medications can affect your hormone levels and change your menstrual cycle.

Hormonal birth control

Hormonal birth control methods contain hormones that directly affect when and how you ovulate. When you start birth control for the first time or switch to a different kind, it’s normal to experience some changes to your menstrual cycle.

You may experience shorter periods or irregular periods for a few months, until your body gets used to the new medication.

Other side effects commonly seen with the pill, the birth control shot, and the hormonal IUD include:

• cramping
• spotting
• headaches

Other medications

Certain prescription medications can interfere with your body’s hormones and cause irregular periods.

Medications that cause irregular periods include those for:

• thyroid disease
• anxiety
• epilepsy
• inflammation

There are several underlying conditions that can affect your hormone levels and cause you to have shorter periods than normal.

Ectopic pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilized egg implants itself in an area of the body other than the uterus. Ectopic pregnancies often cause vaginal bleeding that may be mistaken for a period.

Other signs of an ectopic pregnancy include:

• abdominal pain
• dizziness
• shoulder pain

Implantation

Implantation is when a fertilized egg embeds itself in the wall of your uterus. It occurs about one to two weeks after inception. In some cases, it can cause minor vaginal bleeding that may be mistaken for a short period.

Implantation often occurs before you miss a period and develop other symptoms of pregnancy.

Miscarriage

A miscarriage is an event that results in the loss of embryonic tissue or a fetus during pregnancy. Miscarriages often take place before women know that they’re pregnant, which is why they’re often mistaken for periods.

A short, unexpected period could be a miscarriage.

Other symptoms of miscarriage include:

• spotting or bleeding
• passing fluid or tissue from the vagina
• abdominal pain

Pregnancy

Periods stop during pregnancy, but it isn’t unusual for there to be spotting or light bleeding in the first trimester of pregnancy. Up to one in four women experience some bleeding during pregnancy.

Other symptoms of pregnancy include:

• sore or swollen breasts
• nausea
• vomiting
• missed period
• cravings or aversion to foods or smells

Breastfeeding

The hormone that helps you to produce breastmilk, prolactin, also stops you from ovulating. If you’re breastfeeding day and night, your period may not return for several months after giving birth.

When your period does return, it may be irregular and shorter or longer than usual.

When breastfeeding, you may also experience:

• missed periods
• months between periods
• changes in period duration
• light bleeding or spotting at first

Ovarian cyst

An ovarian cyst is a fluid-filled sac inside the ovary. While these cysts aren’t cancerous, they can sometimes be painful or cause bleeding. A bleeding cyst may be mistaken for a short period.

Most ovarian cysts have no symptoms, but they can sometimes cause abdominal pain, particularly if they’re large or if they rupture.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

PCOS can cause your body to produce more male sex hormones than normal. This hormonal imbalance often causes irregular periods, missed periods, or short periods.

Other symptoms of PCOS include:

• unwanted or excessive facial hair
• acne
• deeper voice
• difficulty getting pregnant

Thyroid disorder

Thyroid disorders cause the body to produce too much or too little thyroid hormone. Thyroid disease affects about one in eight women.

Thyroid hormone plays an important role in your menstrual cycle and can cause a variety of menstrual irregularities, including short periods.

Symptoms of thyroid disorder vary depending on which type you have, but may include:

• weight loss or gain
• trouble sleeping or sleepiness
• fast heart rate or slow heart rate
• lighter or heavier than normal periods

Rarely, short periods are caused by a more serious condition.

Premature ovarian failure (POF)

POF is when you go into early menopause. POF is rare, affecting only 1 in 1,000 women under the age of 29 and 1 in 100 women between ages 30 and 39.

If your ovaries fail, it means you no longer produce the necessary hormones to become pregnant. Your periods may become irregular and then stop entirely. POF may also cause:

• hot flashes
• missed periods
• irregular periods
• vaginal dryness

Asherman syndrome

Asherman syndrome is a rare condition in which scar tissue develops in the uterus. This typically presents after a surgical procedure.

Uterine scar tissue may block the flow of your period, causing irregular or missed periods.

Other symptoms include:

• missed periods
• difficult conceiving
• miscarriages
• cramping without bleeding

Cervical stenosis

Cervical stenosis is the abnormal narrowing of the cervix, which is very rare. It typically happens as a complication of surgery. When the cervix narrows, your mensural flow is obstructed. It may cause missed periods and abdominal pain.

Sheehan’s syndrome

Sheehan’s syndrome is a complication of childbirth that occurs when a woman loses large amounts of blood or experiences severe low blood pressure. It’s very rare in advanced countries where people have access to medical treatment.

Sheehan’s syndrome interferes with the body’s ability to produce pituitary hormones. Low hormone levels lead to absent or infrequent periods.

Other symptoms include:

• difficulty breastfeeding
• difficulty regrowing shaved pubic hair
• low blood pressure
• weight gain
• fatigue

If you’re pregnant or suspect you could be pregnant, you should seek emergency medical treatment if you have any unusual bleeding.

Otherwise, you can typically wait two to three months before seeing your doctor. This will allow your menstrual cycle time to reset and return to normal.

Consider tracking your periods during this time. Make sure you note your period’s start and stop dates, along with details about when bleeding is heavy or light. Your doctor can use this information to help make a diagnosis.

Labor Code of the Russian Federation Article 136. Procedure, place and terms of payment of wages \ ConsultantPlus

A revised version of the document has been prepared with amendments that have not entered into force

of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation Article 136. Procedure, place and terms of payment of wages

Guide to personnel issues. Issues of application of Art. 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

– When is the advance payment and the second part of wages paid

– In what order should wages be paid? Form and place of payment

When paying wages, the employer is obliged to notify each employee in writing:

1) of the components of wages due to him for the relevant period;

2) on the amount of other amounts accrued to the employee, including monetary compensation for violation by the employer of the established deadline, respectively, payment of wages, vacation pay, payments upon dismissal and (or) other payments due to the employee;

3) the amount and grounds for the deductions made;

4) the total amount of money to be paid.

(part one as amended by Federal Law No. 35-FZ of 23.04.2012)

(see the text in the previous edition)

The form of the payslip is approved by the employer, taking into account the opinion of the representative body of employees in the manner prescribed by Article 372 of this Code for the adoption of local regulations.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 90-FZ of June 30, 2006)

(see text in previous edition)

Wages are paid to the employee, as a rule, at the place of work or transferred to the credit institution specified in the employee’s application, on the terms determined by the collective agreement or employment contract. The employee has the right to replace the credit organization to which the wages are to be transferred by informing the employer in writing about the change in the details for the transfer of wages no later than fifteen calendar days before the day of payment of wages.

(as amended by Federal Laws No. 333-FZ of 04. 11.2014, No. 231-FZ of 26.07.2019)

(see the text in the previous edition)

Place and terms of payment of wages in non-monetary form are determined by the collective agreement or an employment contract.

Wages are paid directly to the employee, unless another method of payment is provided for by federal law or an employment contract.

(as amended by Federal Law No. 9 of June 30, 20060-FZ)

(see the text in the previous edition)

Wages are paid at least every half a month. The specific date for the payment of wages is established by the internal labor regulations, the collective agreement or the employment contract no later than 15 calendar days from the end of the period for which it is accrued.

(part six as amended by Federal Law No. 272-FZ of July 3, 2016)

(see the text in the previous edition)

For certain categories of employees, federal law may establish other terms for paying wages.

If the day of payment coincides with a weekend or non-working holiday, payment of wages is made on the eve of this day.

Holidays are paid no later than three days before the start of the holiday.

how you must rest according to the law

Everyone needs to rest. Although scientists assure that even two- and four-day vacations are good for health and reduce stress, in our country, workers are guaranteed an annual basic paid vacation of at least 28 calendar days. This is in line with International Labor Organization Convention No. 132 on paid holidays, Russia ratified it in 2010.

Some employees have longer “holidays”: teachers, doctors, “wreckers”, employees with irregular working hours, etc. The exact duration of additional leave depends on the specialty.

Holidays do not include public holidays. For example, if the holiday falls on March 8, this day will not be paid, but the vacation will be longer by a day. Regular holidays are included and paid.

The vacation schedule is formed in advance, no later than two weeks before January 1. The document is drawn up taking into account beneficiaries and approved by the head of the company. Both employees and the employer are required to comply with the schedule.

Husbands whose wives are on maternity leave have the right to leave on convenient dates; honorary donors; combat veterans; parents with many children, whose eldest child is under 18 years old, and the youngest is under 14 years old, as well as some other categories of employees.

Two weeks before the start of vacation , the employer must notify the employee in writing that he will soon be on vacation. It is not necessary to write an application for vacation according to the schedule.

Not later than three working days before vacation , the company is obliged to calculate and issue vacation pay. Even if the employer agrees to let the employee go to sea right from the next day, this is unacceptable. The deadline for paying vacation pay will be broken, and this is already an offense.

Speaking of vacation pay. They are calculated according to special rules different from payroll calculation. 28 calendar days of vacation are assigned to an employee not for a calendar year, but for each year worked for the employer. To correctly calculate how many vacation days you have accumulated, you need to multiply the number of full months worked by 2.33, because for each fully worked month, an employee is entitled to 2.33 days of vacation. For one day of vacation, the average daily earnings for the last 12 months of work will be paid. The calculation period does not include parental leave, time off from work without good reason, and leave at one’s own expense if they exceed 14 days per year.

You can go on vacation not only after a year of work in the company. According to law , the employee’s right to leave arises after six months of continuous work with the employer, but you can always agree and go on vacation earlier.

Important: if an employee quits before the end of the working year for which he was granted annual leave, the vacation days paid in advance will be deducted from the final calculation.

Vacation can be divided into parts (by agreement between the employee and the employer). There is a condition: at least one part of the rest is not shorter than 14 calendar days . The remaining periods can be any, but in agreement with the management.

We do not recommend “writing off” the accumulated vacation days by taking vacation on Saturday and Sunday: after all, vacation is given in order to rest and recuperate.

Separate requirements have been established for the transfer of holidays. There can be many reasons for this: an illness of an employee during a vacation that has begun or the performance of state duties, production necessity, etc.

Each reason for postponing a vacation has its own characteristics. For example, if the vacation is postponed at the initiative of the employer due to production needs, the employee must take the required time off within 12 months after the end of the working year for which it is provided. “Wreckers” and minors cannot endure rest.