You are 3 weeks and 3 days

Try to keep busy so you're not constantly wondering whether you're pregnant, and think positively.

256 days until your due date

Waiting for your period to start, or hopefully not start, can be stressful when you're trying to conceive. If your cycle is irregular, you may not know when your period is due, and so whether you're late. The uncertainty can make you anxious, dreading signs of your period every time you go to the bathroom.

The wait can be hard whether or not you have fertility problems, and getting your period can be very disappointing. The monthly cycle of period, waiting for ovulation, hoping, and then finding out you're not pregnant can become very wearing.

If you've been trying for a year without success, see your doctor for tests, or after six months if you're over 35 or know you may have fertility problems such as blocked fallopian tubes. Confide in a good friend so you have someone to talk to, but try not to let it take over all your relationships.

If you've only just started trying, remember there's only a one in four or five chance of conceiving each month, so you're unlikely to get pregnant in the first month.

Ask a Doctor

I've failed to conceive for the sixth month. Could it be my irregular periods?

Cycles that vary by more than a few days from month to month count as irregular. This can make conceiving trickier, but knowing the signs of ovulation can help you tell when your short fertile window is approaching.

Irregular ovulation and periods account for around 30–40 percent of fertility problems. Many things affect fertility, such as age, whether cervical fluid is wet enough to keep sperm alive, and whether the fallopian tubes are open, but the most important is whether a woman ovulates regularly.

Sometimes a condition called anovulation causes irregular bleeding with no ovulation. If you don't release an egg each month, you have fewer chances to conceive. You may be given medication to stimulate egg production and ovulation.

As a matter of fact

Unplanned pregnancies

Around half of US pregnancies may be accidental.

According to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data covering 60 percent of US births (31 states and one city), 49 percent of all US pregnancies, and 31 percent of those ending in a live birth, are unintended.

Explainer

Fertility tests over 35

If you're over 35 and have been trying for six months, ask your doctor about fertility tests. You'll both need checking: you'll have blood tests, and your partner's sperm will be tested.

This is general information based on NHS guidance, not medical advice, and every pregnancy is different. Talk to your midwife or GP about anything that worries you. If your baby's movements slow down or change, or you have bleeding, severe pain or leaking fluid, call your maternity unit straight away. In an emergency, call 999.