Breaking the Silence: Support for Women After Miscarriage, Now a Reality
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Interviews: Modifications in Maternal Care Following a Miscarriage - Interrogatives and Responses: Alterations in Post-Miscarriage Maternal Care
Women experiencing a loss after the 13th week of pregnancy can now take maternity leave, effective from June 1, 2025. But what does this mean for those affected? And how many women stand to benefit from this new regulation? Here's your guide.
Previous Maternity Leave Rules
Traditionally, the Maternity Protection Act focused on the period before and after a baby's birth. Typically, maternity protection periods begin six weeks before the birth, lasting eight weeks after. During this time, women were often unable to work, receiving maternity benefits equivalent to their pre-pregnancy salary.
Rules before Miscarriages
Medically, a miscarriage refers to the untimely end of a pregnancy up to the 24th week. Prior to this change, women experiencing miscarriages were left to rely on a sick note, as maternity protection periods and benefits were not provided for cases of miscarriage. Maternity protection and benefits only applied if the loss occurred from the 24th week onward.
New Regulations
The new law introduces a graduated approach, with the duration of maternity protection increasing depending on the stage of the pregnancy at the time of the miscarriage. For miscarriages after the 13th week, two weeks of maternity protection are provided. If the miscarriage occurs after the 17th week, women can now take six weeks of professional leave. After the 20th week, there is provision for eight weeks of professional leave. During these periods, women will receive salary replacement. Maternity protection is not offered for miscarriages before the 13th week.
Optional Leave
No, women are not compelled to take professional leave. If a woman wishes to continue working despite the miscarriage from the 13th week, she has the option to do so.
Self-Employed Women
The new regulation applies to self-employed women who are legally insured, as well as soldiers and civil servants. However, self-employed women with private insurance are currently excluded. The new federal government aims to offer maternity protection benefits to self-employed women as well, as stipulated in their coalition agreement.
Currently, self-employed women have no legal claim to maternity protection benefits, unless they are legally insured. The Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Dr. Anne Spiegel, expressed her intention to address the needs of self-employed women. However, a timeline for the proposed regulatory changes is uncertain.
Approximately 6,000 miscarriages occur between the 13th and 24th week of pregnancy each year. The majority of miscarriages, around 84,000, occur before the 12th week of pregnancy and are not yet covered by the new regulation.
- Miscarriage
- Maternity Protection
- Self-Employment
- Women
- Week of Pregnancy
Although specific data on the annual impact of the new maternity leave regulation in Germany is not readily available, the new rules indicate a significant shift in support for women experiencing miscarriages after the 13th week of pregnancy. Estimating the number of women affected would require detailed analysis, considering miscarriage rates beyond the 13th week and the annual population of pregnant women in Germany.
- The new maternity leave regulation suggests a considerable change in community policy, providing support for women who experience miscarriages after the 13th week of pregnancy.
- To fully understand the impact of this change, it would be beneficial to consider a women's health-and-wellness perspective, including the potential benefits of vocational training programs to those affected.
