Employment ban
The Maternity Protection Act determines protection periods such as the prohibition of employment. A distinction is made between a general, a general and, in the case of risk pregnancies, an individual employment ban. The general prohibition of employment applies 6 weeks before the calculated date of delivery and 8 weeks (12 weeks for multiple births) after the birth.
A general prohibition of employment can be determined depending on the professional activity of the expectant mother. The individual prohibition of employment is used in the case of a high-risk pregnancy and is justified individually by the physician, if there are dangers for the mother or the growing child when continuing employment. The physician can certify a partial (certain activities may no longer be performed or changes in working hours) or total employment ban. The only exception to this is incapacity to work. During a prohibition of employment outside the normal protection periods, the female employee is entitled to a maternity pay equivalent to full pay.
Summary
A high-risk pregnancy is when there may be a risk to the health of mother and child due to various risk factors during pregnancy or at birth. These can result from the history of the expectant mother (including illnesses, previous pregnancies) and from complications during the pregnancy. If a pregnancy is classified as a high-risk pregnancy, the mother and child are cared for more intensively during the course of the pregnancy and, if necessary, hospitals are specifically selected for delivery.Also, in the case of a high-risk pregnancy, in addition to more frequent ultrasound examinations, additional prenatal diagnostic tests can be performed, which are partly paid for by the statutory health insurance companies. Depending on the cause of a high-risk pregnancy and its course, the attending physician can certify an individual employment ban.