¿´Æ¬Èí¼þ

Protection periods

As a rule, the maternity protection period commences six weeks before the due date and continues until eight weeks after childbirth. The protection period after childbirth is extended to twelve weeks in the event of a premature or multiple birth.

During this period, staff are not allowed to work and students may not participate in courses or exams. However, at their express request, staff may forego this protection in the period before the child's birth and students for the entire period by expressly declaring their willingness to work during this time or to participate in courses and exams. This declaration can be revoked at any time.

Breastfeeding mothers additionally enjoy special rights in the first year after childbirth. They are entitled to breaks (“release time") of at least half an hour twice a day or one hour once a day to breastfeed their child. Furthermore, they are not allowed to work with certain hazardous substances, be assigned to piecework or work on assembly lines, or perform physically exerting tasks.

Notification of pregnancy

Goethe University Frankfurt can only fulfil its obligations in the context of maternity protection if you notify the university that you are pregnant. In your own interest, we therefore recommend that you inform us early on so that protective measures or compensation for disadvantages can be agreed and implemented in good time. There is a special obligation to show cooperation in areas where a specific risk is to be expected. If in doubt, please contact .

Information for specific target groups

As the statutory provisions on maternity protection for staff and students each have very specific implications, you can find information below for the respective target groups

Statutory maternity protection due to miscarriages from June 2025

From a medical point of view, a miscarriage occurs when the pregnancy ends prematurely by the 24th week of pregnancy. Miscarriage can be a very stressful experience for the women concerned. Staggered protection periods for miscarriages apply starting from the 13th week of pregnancy. The longer the pregnancy has lasted, the longer the protection period in the event of a miscarriage.

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

Entitlement to maternity benefits during the protection period

Women are entitled to maternity benefits during the protection periods. The duration of the benefits depends on the protection period.

Documentation in the U2 application

Employers can recover the costs of maternity protection via the U2 pay-as-you-go insurance scheme (Section 1 (2) no. 1 AAG). In its circular dated March 5, 2025, the GKV-Spitzenverband has now specified how the day of miscarriage must be documented in the automatically transmitted U2 application:

The day of the miscarriage is entered in the data field “MUTMASSLICHER ENTBINDUNGSTAG".

Health insurance companies require a medical certificate of miscarriage from the 13th week of pregnancy. The certificate must state the week of the miscarriage.

Adopted bill

The German Bundestag provides information about the legislative process on its website. You may read the adopted draft bill .

With the amendment of the Maternity Protection Act that came into force at the beginning of 2018, students are also covered by the statutory maternity protection provisions for the first time. On the following pages, you can learn the ins and outs of maternity protection for students and which provisions you should be familiar with.

Staff at ¿´Æ¬Èí¼þ Frankfurt can find all key information on the website of the Staff Services Department:

Unfortunately, the information provided by the Staff Services Department is currently only available in German. If you have any questions, please contact your HR administrator directly for personal advice.