Dear Doctor,
I have missed my periods for six months, yet I am not pregnant.
I am married. Will I be able to conceive?
Justine

Dear Justine
I need to know whether you have been on contraceptives because they can affect a woman’s menstrual cycle.
After getting off the contraceptives, a woman can miss her periods before they become regular.

A lot of things make women miss their periods. They include psychological factors, hormonal imbalance, severe weight loss, eating disorders and polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a hormonal disorder whose principal feature is anovulation resulting into irregular menstruation.

The causes also vary, depending on whether it has been a regular happening or it is a one-time thing.

I cannot really give you an exact answer about the conception possibilities, but you need to visit a gynaecologist to have hormonal checks, fallopian tube X-ray and other basic fertility investigations. You should get the due help.