📅 Notifying the pregnancy and maternity protection periods

When you should report your pregnancy and how long the protection periods before and after the birth last.

maternity protection period protection period MuSchG duty to notify due date premature birth multiple birth

In brief

There is no legal obligation to tell your employer about the pregnancy at any particular time. However, to benefit from the protective provisions (e.g. bans on employment, special protection against dismissal), it is in your own interest to give informal notice as early as possible. From the notification, special protection against dismissal applies.

The actual protection period begins 6 weeks before the calculated due date and ends 8 weeks after the birth. During this time you generally may not be employed, unless you expressly declare yourself willing to keep working for the period before the birth (you can withdraw this at any time). After the birth, a voluntary declaration is excluded – the protection period afterwards is mandatory.

Step by step

Notify the pregnancyInform your employer informally, ideally in writing, stating the calculated due date (e.g. with a copy of your maternity record (Mutterpass) or a medical certificate).
Have the due date confirmedHave the calculated date certified by a doctor – it is the starting point for calculating the 6-week period before the birth.
Decide on the period before the birthDecide whether you want to keep working in the last 6 weeks before the birth (voluntary, can be withdrawn at any time) or use the protection period from the start.
Report the birthReport the actual date of birth to your employer and health insurance fund – it may shift the period after the birth and is required to calculate maternity pay.
Check for an extensionIn the case of a premature birth, multiple birth or a disability of the child certified by a doctor, check whether the extended period of 12 weeks after the birth applies.

Deadlines

6 weeks

Protection period before the birth (voluntary continued work possible and can be withdrawn at any time)§ 3 Abs. 1 MuSchG

8 weeks

Protection period after the birth as a rule – mandatory, no continued work possible§ 3 Abs. 2 MuSchG

12 weeks

Extended protection period after the birth for premature births, multiple births, and where a disability of the child is certified by a doctor before the end of the eight-week period and the mother applies for it§ 3 Abs. 2 Satz 2, Abs. 3 MuSchG

Watch out – common mistakes

In the case of an early birth, the period after the birth is extended by the number of days that could not be taken before the birth – this is different from the 12-week rule for premature births in the narrower sense (§ 3 Abs. 3 MuSchG).
For legal purposes, a "premature birth" is medically generally a birth before the completed 37th week of pregnancy or with a birth weight below 2,500 g – the exact medical classification in the individual case decides whether the 12-week period applies; have this confirmed by a doctor.
The extension to 12 weeks for a disability of the child requires an express application by the mother and must be certified by a doctor before the regular 8-week period expires – it does not apply automatically.
Since 1 June 2025, § 3 Abs. 5 MuSchG provides separate, tiered protection after a miscarriage from the 13th week of pregnancy – the length depends on the week of pregnancy reached. The exact weekly tiers have deliberately not been quantified in detail here; check the current text of the law (§ 3 Abs. 5 MuSchG) or ask an advice centre if this applies to you.

In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Legal basis and structure

§ 3 MuSchG distinguishes between the protection period before delivery (para. 1) and after delivery (paras. 2 and 3). Before the birth the period is six weeks, although under § 3 Abs. 1 Satz 2 MuSchG the woman can expressly declare that she wants to keep working; she can withdraw this declaration at any time with effect for the future. After the birth the period is generally eight weeks; in the case of multiple births and in the cases named in § 3 Abs. 2 Satz 2 MuSchG (including premature birth, and where a disability of the child is certified by a doctor before the end of the eight-week period and the mother applies for it) the period after the birth is extended to twelve weeks.

Calculation where the date differs

If the child arrives later than calculated, the period before the birth is not shortened accordingly – the period after the birth remains in full. If the child arrives earlier, the period after the birth is extended by the number of days that could no longer be taken from the period before the birth because of the early birth (§ 3 Abs. 3 MuSchG) – in addition to any extension due to premature birth itself.

Duty to notify

§ 15 MuSchG provides that the woman "should notify" her employer of the pregnancy and the expected delivery date – so it is a "should" provision without sanction for failure to do so, but the special protection against dismissal under § 17 MuSchG requires that the employer knew of the pregnancy at the time of the dismissal or is notified of it within two weeks of receiving the dismissal.

New since June 2025: protection after a miscarriage

With effect from 1 June 2025, a paragraph 5 was added to § 3 MuSchG, which grants women after a miscarriage from the 13th week of pregnancy their own protection after the loss, tiered according to the week of pregnancy reached (based on the structure of the period after a live birth, but regulated separately). Since the exact weekly tiers and any rights of withdrawal or choice may differ between sources and this rule is still very new, it is deliberately not quantified in detail here – read the current text of the law at gesetze-im-internet.de or contact a pregnancy counselling centre.

Who is responsible

Employer
Treating doctor / midwife (certificate of the date)
State supervisory authority in case of disputes

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Notifying the pregnancy and maternity protection periods“?

When you should report your pregnancy and how long the protection periods before and after the birth last.

Which deadlines and figures matter?

6 weeks: Protection period before the birth (voluntary continued work possible and can be withdrawn at any time) (§ 3 Abs. 1 MuSchG)
8 weeks: Protection period after the birth as a rule – mandatory, no continued work possible (§ 3 Abs. 2 MuSchG)
12 weeks: Extended protection period after the birth for premature births, multiple births, and where a disability of the child is certified by a doctor before the end of the eight-week period and the mother applies for it (§ 3 Abs. 2 Satz 2, Abs. 3 MuSchG)

What should I do first?

Notify the pregnancy: Inform your employer informally, ideally in writing, stating the calculated due date (e.g. with a copy of your maternity record (Mutterpass) or a medical certificate).
Have the due date confirmed: Have the calculated date certified by a doctor – it is the starting point for calculating the 6-week period before the birth.
Decide on the period before the birth: Decide whether you want to keep working in the last 6 weeks before the birth (voluntary, can be withdrawn at any time) or use the protection period from the start.

What do I need to watch out for?

In the case of an early birth, the period after the birth is extended by the number of days that could not be taken before the birth – this is different from the 12-week rule for premature births in the narrower sense (§ 3 Abs. 3 MuSchG).
For legal purposes, a "premature birth" is medically generally a birth before the completed 37th week of pregnancy or with a birth weight below 2,500 g – the exact medical classification in the individual case decides whether the 12-week period applies; have this confirmed by a doctor.
The extension to 12 weeks for a disability of the child requires an express application by the mother and must be certified by a doctor before the regular 8-week period expires – it does not apply automatically.

Evidence

§ 3 MuSchG (gesetze-im-internet.de)
§ 15 MuSchG (gesetze-im-internet.de)
§ 3 Abs. 5 MuSchG as amended since 1.6.2025 (gesetze-im-internet.de)

As of

As of September 2026. · Sources and method

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.