My period was late and now I’m bleeding really heavily—could I be having a miscarriage
In the absence of a positive pregnancy test or a pregnancy confirmed by an ultrasound scan, it is difficult to know whether or not you were pregnant. If you have had unprotected intercourse in the time since your last period, it is possible that you could have been pregnant and this is a miscarriage. The lateness of your period may be a clue, but won’t confirm one way or another. If you have any other
symptoms of pregnancy it might be worth doing a pregnancy test since sometimes, even when there has been bleeding, a viable pregnancy is discovered. However, it could also be a late period for no other reason than that this happens on occasion to
everyone. A delayed period can be caused by weight loss or gain, stress, or if you have been taking an oral contraceptive pill but missed a dose. Talk to your midwife or doctor if the bleeding continues; you feel faint or experience palpitations;
your period lasts for longer than seven days; you have more than six well-soaked pads a day; or if you have any severe abdominal pain. Your doctor can do a blood test to check your iron levels and possibly determine if you have been pregnant, in which case an incomplete miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy will need to be ruled out