Maternity leave finally also after a miscarriage

🎇 Finally, some good news: The staggered maternity protection is coming! SPD, the Greens, and the CDU/CSU had agreed on a joint draft law in December, which has now been passed in the Bundestag just before the new elections.

Natascha Sagorski initiated a petition on this issue, which was overwhelmingly successful, even in the media. Natascha is part of the herCAREER community and spoke about the topic at a MeetUp at our Expo 2024: https://lnkd.in/ee7uJnNS

Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Lisa Paus, supported the demands (see our post: https://lnkd.in/eYyY9bsM).

Until now, there was no maternity protection for women who suffered a miscarriage—often with serious and long-term consequences. The only option was to take sick leave, but not all affected women were granted it, forcing some to return to work the very next day. It is estimated that one in three women experiences a miscarriage in her lifetime; every year, there are about 6,000 miscarriages in Germany (Süddeutsche Zeitung).

The new law introduces staggered maternity protection for miscarriages from the 13th week onward. (“Staggered” means that the duration of protection depends on the length of the pregnancy at the time of miscarriage.) Affected women can now rely on legally regulated maternity protection, but they still have the option of taking sick leave.

“This is an issue that not only lacks reliable statistics but also fundamental research, adequate care, and good legislation. A topic that has long been neglected,” said Hanna Grabbe in ZEIT ONLINE. The fact that a majority in the Bundestag has now voted in favor of passing the law is “remarkable in a time when no party wants to grant the other a success. But above all, it is a long-overdue step to finally bring the issue of miscarriages out of the ‘trivial zone.'”

The painful experience of miscarriage is still downplayed by both politics and medicine. This has been criticized not only by activists, whose persistent efforts have largely made this law possible, but also by renowned scientists who have long been calling for a new approach to the issue.

Grabbe adds a note of caution: “A single change in the law cannot solve all the problems caused by the decades-long taboo surrounding the topic.”