Maternity Protection Expanded: Support for Women Following Miscarriages Now Extended Beyond the 13th Week
Pregnancy protection rights extended to cover cases following miscarriages - Pregnancy protection is available following a miscarriage
Want the lowdown? Here's the skinny on the new maternity protection regulations, effective from June 1st, 2025.
Prior Rules
Before the shake-up, maternity protection primarily focused on the period just before and after a baby's birth. The protective periods generally started six weeks before delivery and ended eight weeks afterward, with women typically taking a break from work during this time [1]. These periods came with maternity benefits, replacing the full salary enjoyed before pregnancy [3].
Medically speaking, a miscarriage happens before the 24th week of pregnancy. Impacted women relied on a sick note in such cases, and neither a maternity protection period nor benefits under the Maternity Protection Act applied [2].
The New Regulation
Here's where things change. The legislation now provides a graded scale: the later the miscarriage, the longer the maternity protection period [1]. Women experiencing a miscarriage after the 13th week can now enjoy two weeks of maternity leave [1]. The period extends to six weeks after the 17th week, and in cases of miscarriages after the 20th week, the ladies can take a two-week break from work [1]. They're also entitled to salary replacement during these periods, provided their company follows the new law [1]. No maternity protection claim is offered for miscarriages up to the 12th week [1].
Let's clarify one thing: if a woman wishes to work despite a miscarriage after the 13th week and forego the maternity protection period, she absolutely can! [2]
Impact on the Self-Employed
This update also impacts the self-employed, civil servants, and soldiers, providing them with a maternity protection period in case of a miscarriage after the 13th week [2]. However, self-employed women who opt for private insurance are left out, but there's a possibility that a new regulation could extend these benefits, as proposed by the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD [2].
The Number Affected
The official statistics on the number of women in Germany benefiting from the new maternity protection regulations following miscarriages after the 13th week are yet to be determined. However, it can be deduced that a notable number of women will profit from these regulatory changes, given that miscarriages after the 13th week are likely to be less common than those occurring earlier in the pregnancy [4].
Experts estimate that around 6,000 miscarriages occur yearly in Germany between the 13th and 24th week of pregnancy, a substantial jump from the 84,000 miscarriages presumed to happen before the 12th week with no maternity protection claim [4].
Community policy should now include a provision for the new maternity protection regulations regarding miscarriages, as the legislation extends maternity leave for women experiencing miscarriage after the 13th week. This updated employment policy under health-and-wellness, including mental health and women's health, affected by the changes may have implications for self-employed individuals, civil servants, and soldiers.
