Expecting a Baby in Germany

If you are pregnant, you should visit your gynaecologist every four weeks during the first few months of your pregnancy. During the final eight weeks, you should visit your doctor every two weeks. These medical exams, referred to as Prenatal Care (“Schwangerschaftsvorsorge”), are important because they allow your doctor to make sure that you and your child are healthy. If you don’t feel well between two visits, don’t wait for your next appointment and consult your doctor immediately.

Every time you go to the doctor, she or he will weigh you, check your blood pressure and you will take a urine test. Sometimes, also a blood sample is needed. Usually, three ultrasound scans are conducted in different stages of pregnancy to examine the baby's developments.

You can also get advice from a midwife during your pregnancy and shortly after birth about topics such as child birth,  breastfeeding, preparation for birth, the delivery itself and aftercare. The Maternity Health Record (“Mutterpass”), which every pregnant woman receives during the first medical examination, will help you to plan and record all medical exams before giving birth.

The Maternity Health Record or “Mutterpass” is an A5 sized booklet. The significance of this little notebook comes from the fact that all the necessary medical data related to your pregnancy will be recorded in it. Results of medical exams carried out during your pregnancy as well as crucial information about your delivery will be noted down in your "Mutterpass". When visiting to your gynaecologist, your midwife or the local hospital, you will always be asked for your maternity health record. It is best to keep it within arm’s reach because in the case of an emergency, the doctor who will be treating you will not necessarily be your gynaecologist- so it is important to provide him ot her with your vital health records and those of your baby to save time and facilitate treatment.

As a pregnant woman, you cannot be dismissed from your job by your employer in Germany. In fact, Dismissal Protection Regulation (“Kündigungsschutz”) is one of the significant provisions of the Maternity Protection Act (“Mutterschutzgesetz”). It applies at the beginning of pregnancy until four months following childbirth and during parental leave (“Elternzeit”). During this time, your employer can only dismiss you in exceptional circumstances. To protect yourself from dismissal, you need to inform your employer about your pregnancy as well as expected date of birth. It is best to tell your boss early on, but should you receive a notice of dismissal while pregnant, you may notify the employer within a two-week period after receiving the notice. 

During pregnancy, your health and safety should be protected at your place of work. Your safety is secured by the Maternity Protection Act (“Mutterschutzgesetz”) as well as the Regulation for the Protection of Mothers at the Workplace (“Verordnung zum Schutze der Mütter am Arbeitsplatz”) which means:

• Your employer has to ensure your health and safety at your place of work.
• As an expecting mother, you are neither permitted to perform intense physical activities nor operate heavy machinery. Exposure to toxic substances is also strictly prohibited.
• As a pregnant employee, you are not allowed to work night shifts (8 pm to 6 am).

According to the Maternity Protection Act (“Mutterschutzgesetz”), you are entitled to go on two paid leaves, one before and another after giving birth:

• You do not have to work during the last six weeks of your pregnancy. However, if you feel fit enough to do so, you can.
• As a woman who gave birth, you are not allowed to resume work until eight weeks after giving birth.
• In the cases of premature birth, multiple babies or Caesarean section, you cannot return to work until twelve weeks after delivery.
• If the delivery takes place later than the initially calculated date, your maternity leave will also start at that time. That means that no matter when you give birth, you don't lose a single day of your maternity leave.

You are allowed to terminate your pregnancy under particular circumstances, as section 218a of the German Penal Code (“Strafgesetzbuch”) specifies. Abortion after 12 weeks without indication of medical or criminal circumstances is forbidden and penalised. The abortion procedure is mostly carried out with the help of tablets or surgery. An abortion can only be performed if both the woman and the doctor agree to the process. 

To ensure the protection of unborn life, you have to attend a mandatory counselling session (“Schwangerschafts(konflikts)beratung”) at an officially recognised help centre before you can terminate your pregnancy. Men also have the right to benefit from such a session during the pregnancy of their partners. You can find more information about counselling centres on the website of AWO. There you can find PDF files in Arabic and some other languages to download.

• Abortion is only legal within 12 weeks of conception; that is 14 weeks from your last period.
• You will need a confirmation letter (“Beratungsschein”) from a recognised counselling centres. The letter should confirm that you have gone through counselling before abortion. You can find our more here (in German).
• There must be at least a 3 days gap between the counselling session and the abortion.

When medical or criminological reasons make an abortion necessary, health insurance companies cover the costs.  Surgical or medical abortions often cost between 300 to 400 euros.

If you have little or no income, the costs of an abortion will be covered for you, as specified in the Act on Helping Women's Abortions in Special Cases. You can request the local statutory health insurance to take over the costs. You are entitled to this right, even if you don't contribute to any statutory health insurance.

You can end your pregnancy after 12 weeks if indications of medical or criminal circumstances make it necessary. Concerns over your physical or mental health is considered to be a legitimate medical reason for abortion. In the case of late abortions, in particular, you will have access to professional counselling. You are entitled and obliged to go through psycho-social counselling before you get an abortion.

Identificaton of disabilities or damage in the unborn baby do not count as a legitimate medical reasons to terminate a pregnancy. According to German law, the Federal Agency for Health Education (“Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung”) is obligated to provide you with the information on how to care for children with special mental or physical needs. Your doctor can give you these brochures as well as the contact details of associations and other support groups who assisst people with disabilities and their families.

If you are the victim of a sex offence, e.g. rape, and have become pregnant as a result, this could count as a criminal evidence which legitimises the termination of your pregnancy. For abortions in such cases, however, no more than twelve weeks may have passed since the start of pregnancy. An independent doctor will have to confirm whether the abortion is medically or criminally legitimate and issue the relevant medical certificate.

If you are under 18 and want to have an abortion, you will need to be accompanied during the entire medical procedure. Your doctor will decide whether or not you can take this decision independently. In some cases, a specialist might ask for the consent of one or both your parents.