When a woman appears to be having a real period, she is not pregnant. Some women who experience a small amount of vaginal bleeding in the early stages of pregnancy think that they are having their period, so this misconception can occur. When a woman is pregnant, her ovaries no longer ovulate and the hormones they secrete no longer act on the endometrium, which causes the endometrium to peel off periodically, which means that she will not have a period. When a woman has a small amount of vaginal bleeding when her period is delayed and she is not sure if it is a normal period or if she is having a pre-eclampsia, she can go to the hospital to have a blood test for chorionic gonadotropin levels. If the chorionic gonadotropin level in the blood is elevated, it is possible that there is a biochemical pregnancy or preterm miscarriage or embryonic abortion.