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56days
Days to start or end: 56 daysUnder § 3 MuSchG the period starts 42 days before the expected date of delivery and ends eight weeks after the birth, twelve for a premature or multiple birth. An early birth carries the lost days over to the end. Insurer and employer do the binding calculation.
57
Open with these values20
Open with these values84
Open with these valuesstart = due date − 42 days; end = birth + 56 or 84 days + the lost run-up days
§ 3 of the German Maternity Protection Act sets two periods and a bridge between them. The one before birth starts six weeks — 42 calendar days — ahead of the expected date of delivery as certified by a doctor or a midwife, and the day of birth itself is not counted in that reckoning. It ends when the child arrives, whenever that is.
The one after birth runs eight weeks from the day of birth, or twelve for a premature or multiple birth. Twelve also applies where a disability is medically established in the child, but only if the woman applies for it. The bridge is the sentence most people miss: if the child comes before the due date, the period after birth is extended by exactly the days lost from the period before.
It can never gain more than 42, because the earlier period never had more than that. If the child comes late, the period before birth simply runs on to the actual delivery, and the eight weeks after stay eight weeks. What is not modelled here: stillbirth, the death of the child and miscarriage fall under separate subsections with their own periods.
Nor is the express declaration with which a woman may keep working during the six weeks before the birth. And the sentence that matters most: your health insurer and your employer do the binding calculation. This page reproduces it.
Bei vorzeitiger Entbindung verlängert sich die Schutzfrist nach der Entbindung nach Satz 1 oder nach Satz 2 um den Zeitraum der Verkürzung der Schutzfrist vor der Entbindung nach Absatz 1 Satz 4.
This page reproduces § 3 MuSchG and replaces no official statement. The medical certificate and the calculation by insurer and employer are what count.
Stillbirth, the death of the child and miscarriage have their own subsections in § 3 with different periods. Anyone affected will get a wrong answer here.
Maternity Protection Act of 23 May 2017, last amended by Article 13 of the Act of 22 December 2025. Checked on 2026-08-28.
If the edge you asked about is behind you, the answer is a negative number rather than a zero. That is how many days ago it was.
MisconceptionAn early birth forfeits the weeks you missed.
CorrectionThey move to the other end. The period after birth is extended by exactly the days lost before it.
MisconceptionA late birth shortens the period afterwards.
CorrectionIt does not; the eight weeks after delivery are untouched. What lengthens is the period before, because it runs on to the actual birth.
MisconceptionA very early birth adds an unlimited number of days.
CorrectionThe carry-over is capped at 42 days, because the period before birth was never longer than six weeks. A calculator without that cap overstates it.
MisconceptionThe last day of the period is the first day back at work.
CorrectionThe calculator names the last day of the employment ban. The earliest day back at work is the one after it.
| Case | Starts | Last day | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth on the due date, eight weeks | due − 42 | birth + 56 | 98 days |
| Birth on the due date, twelve weeks | due − 42 | birth + 84 | 126 days |
| Due 2 Nov, born 31 Oct | 21 Sep | 28 Dec | 99 days |
| Due 1 Nov, born 4 Nov | 20 Sep | 30 Dec | 102 days |
42 calendar days before the expected date of delivery certified by a doctor or midwife. The day of birth itself is not counted in that backward reckoning.
Eight weeks from the day of birth. Twelve for a premature or multiple birth, and twelve on application where a disability is medically established in the child.
The period after birth is extended by the days the earlier period lost. At most 42, since it never held more than that.
The period before birth simply runs on until the actual delivery. The eight or twelve weeks afterwards are unaffected.
No. § 3 handles stillbirth, the death of the child and miscarriage in separate subsections with different periods, none of which is modelled here.
No, and it is not legal advice either. Your health insurer and employer make the binding calculation; this page only reproduces what § 3 MuSchG says.
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