The German parliament has taken a significant step in strengthening maternity protection for women who experience miscarriages. Under the new regulation, women who miscarry after the 13th week of pregnancy will now be entitled to maternity leave, offering them time for physical and emotional recovery. This change aims to provide better support and acknowledgment of the challenges faced by women dealing with pregnancy loss.

The German Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, passed a law on Thursday evening that extends maternity leave protection to women who suffer a miscarriage after 13 weeks of pregnancy.

A large majority of lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, which aims to support women during a period of physical and emotional recovery, according to Sarah Lahrkamp, a lawmaker from the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

There were two nearly identical bills on this subject. As part of a cross-party agreement, the parliamentary committee responsible decided to adopt the text introduced by the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) bloc.

Under the current German law, women are generally entitled to paid maternity leave starting six weeks before birth and continuing for eight weeks after birth. However, this entitlement did not apply in the event of a miscarriage.

Previously, women who suffered a miscarriage before the 24th week of pregnancy had to actively apply for medical leave, and approval was sometimes uncertain.

With the new regulation, women who miscarry after the 13th week of pregnancy will have the option to take maternity leave. However, they are not obligated to take it if they prefer not to.

The law is set to be discussed in the Bundesrat, the upper house of the German parliament, on February 14. If it is approved there, it could go into effect on June 1 of this year.

It is estimated that approximately 6,000 miscarriages occur in Germany each year between the 13th and 24th week of pregnancy. However, the majority of miscarriages—about 84,000—occur before the 12th week of pregnancy, which is not covered under the new maternity leave law.