Birgit Ennemoser (birgit.ennemoser@auren.de), Head of HR Services

In Germany, maternity protection (Mutterschutz) differs from parental leave (Elternzeit): Maternity protection ensures the highest possible level of health and social security for mothers and their babies before and after childbirth. In contrast, parental leave allows both parents to take a break from work after the birth of their child to care for their new family member.

The maternity protection period generally begins six weeks before the expected due date and ends 8 weeks after birth. If a child is born prematurely, the total maternity protection period still lasts 14 weeks. This means that it does not simply end 8 weeks after birth but is extended by the number of days the child was born before the due date.

If a child is born so early that it is medically classified as a premature birth – for example, if the newborn weighs less than 2,500 grams – the postnatal maternity protection period extends to 12 weeks.  This increases the total maternity protection period from 14 to 18 weeks.

The protection period after birth is also extended to 12 weeks in the following cases:

• In the event of multiple births (e.g., twins, triplets, or more), or
• If a child is born with a disability and the mother applies for an extension of maternity protection with her health insurance provider.

Until now, women who suffered a miscarriage before the 24th  week of pregnancy were not entitled to maternity protection.

Changes Effective 1st June 2025

In the future, maternity protection will also apply to women who experience a miscarriage from the 13th week of pregnancy onwards.

The protection periods for miscarriages from the 13th  week will be as follows:.

• Miscarriage from the 13th week: up to 2 weeks of maternity protection
• Miscarriage from the 17th week: up to 6 weeks of maternity protection
• Miscarriage from the 20th week: up to 8 weeks of maternity protection

Parental leave is an unpaid break from work for mothers and fathers who wish to care for their child themselves. Employees are entitled to request parental leave from their employer, who must grant it. Each parent can take up to 3 years of parental leave per child,  during which they do not receive a salary.  However, parents can apply for parental allowance (Elterngeld) to compensate for their loss of income. Unlike in some other countries, Germany does not have a separate paternity leave policy. Instead, fathers can make use of parental leave and parental allowance.

Parental leave can be taken before the child’s third birthday, with a portion of it available between the child’s third and eighth birthday. During this period, parents benefit from special protection against dismissal. In most cases, they also have the right to return to their previous job after parental leave. Parental leave can be taken by anyone who is an employee, lives in the same household as their child, and takes care of and raises the child themselves. During parental leave, parents either do not work at all or work a maximum of 30 hours per week.