Maternity Protection after Miscarriage: Reform of the Maternity Protection Act 2025

On June 1, 2025, a comprehensive reform of the Maternity Protection Act (MuSchG) came into effect in Germany. The updates aim to adapt maternity protection to family realities, strengthen health and economic security, and at the same time relieve employers. The focus is particularly on financial benefits in cases of miscarriage.

What was previously valid

Until now, the MuSchG stipulated:

• Protection against Dismissal:
  for pregnant employees from the beginning of pregnancy until four months after delivery (§ 17 MuSchG).

• Protection periods:
  six weeks before birth, eight weeks after (twelve weeks for premature or multiple births).

• Maternity benefits:
  Health insurance and employers share the responsibility. Financial protection during maternity leave is a central pillar of the law. It consists of two components:

1. Maternity allowance from the statutory health insurance (§ 24i SGB V)
   Insured persons receive up to €13 per calendar day from their health insurance during maternity protection periods. Privately insured or family-insured persons may be entitled to maternity allowance through the Federal Office for Social Security under certain conditions.

2. Employer's Subsidy (§ 20 MuSchG)
   The employers compensate for the difference between the maternity allowance and the average net earnings of the last three months before the start of the maternity protection period. This payment is fully reimbursed through the U2 allocation procedure (§ 1 AAG - Expenditure Compensation Act).

• In cases of miscarriage before the 24th week, maternity protection did not previously apply; instead, the Continued Remuneration Act applied in the case of health-related consequences through a medical certificate.

An overview of the changes from June 2025

Maternity protection also in case of miscarriage from the 13th week of pregnancy
A central component of the reform is the introduction of a tiered maternity protection in cases of miscarriage:

• From the 13th week of pregnancy: 2 weeks maternity leave

• From the 17th week of pregnancy: 6 weeks maternity leave

• From the 20th week of pregnancy: 8 weeks of maternity leave

This gives those affected by an early miscarriage the right to a period of protection for the first time, with the aim of giving those affected time for physical and mental recovery. The condition is that employers are informed; taking advantage of it remains voluntary.

For stillbirths (from the 24th week of pregnancy or with a birth weight of 500g or more), the protection period is set uniformly at 14 weeks.

Even after a miscarriage from the 13th week of pregnancy, affected employees now have the right to these benefits - an important step towards greater social justice and destigmatization.

The reform of the Maternity Protection Act 2025 is an important step towards a more family-friendly working environment. The protection against dismissal as well as financial benefits during maternity leave - now also in the case of early miscarriage - not only strengthen those affected but also promote a modern corporate culture.

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