Explained: Centre’s plan for special maternity leave for women who lose their babies

Like babies, new mothers need TLC (tender loving care). And India continues to take steps, keeping their health – both mental and physical – in mind. In a new move, the government has okayed 60 days of special maternity leave for women who have lost a child soon after birth. The decision has been taken to help a mother whose baby has died to heal. The trauma caused because of stillbirth or the death of a newborn impacts the mother’s mental health. And the government aims to address that. “The matter has been considered in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Keeping in view the potential emotional trauma caused due to stillbirth or death of a child soon after birth, which has a far-reaching impact on the mother’s life, it has now been decided to grant a special maternity leave of 60 days…,” the government said in an order. Who can avail of this special maternity leave? According to the order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, all women employees working with the central government are entitled to the special leave. It does not apply to women working in private organisations. When can the women take leave? A woman can take the special maternity leave after the death of her baby soon after birth. The condition for the death of a child has been defined as up to 28 days after birth, said the order issued to all ministries and departments of the central government. A baby born with no signs of life at or after 28 weeks of gestation may be defined as stillbirth, the DoPT said. However, the order comes with a rider. Only those women employees who have less than two surviving children can take the leave. Moreover, the special leave will be granted only if the delivery takes place in an authorised hospital. An authorised hospital is defined as a government or private hospital empanelled under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). In case of emergency delivery in a non-empanelled private hospital, the production of an emergency certificate is mandatory. What if a woman has already taken maternity leave? In case a maternity leave has already been availed by a woman central government servant, her leave continues until the date of expiry of the child soon after birth/stillbirth. The maternity leave already availed until the death of the child may be converted into any other kind of leave available in her leave account without insisting on a medical certificate. The special maternity leave of 60 days may be granted from the date of expiry of the child soon after birth/stillbirth, the DoPT said in the order. In case the maternity leave has not been availed, 60 days of special maternity leave may be granted from the date of expiry of the child soon after birth/ stillbirth. The order will be applicable to those government employees who are appointed to the civil services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union of India in terms of Rule 2 of the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules 1972. The past cases, wherever settled in respective ministries or departments, need not be reopened. [caption id=“attachment_11204411” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] In India, working women get paid leave for 26 weeks. AFP[/caption] How many days of maternity leave does India grant? In March 2019, Parliament passed a bill that allowed working women paid maternity leave for 26 weeks, up from 12 weeks. The change in law applied to all establishments, employing 10 or more people and the entitlement would be for only the first two children. For the third child, new mothers would get a 12-week leave. Even commissioning and adopting mothers are included but the maternity leave period is capped at 12 weeks for them. What about the leave in case of miscarriage? India is among the few countries which have a legal mandate for the past 60 years to offer miscarriage leave. The Maternity Benefit Act 1961 states that in case of miscarriage, a woman will be entitled to paid leave for six weeks immediately following the day of her miscarriage. Women are required to submit proof of miscarriage. However, wilful termination of pregnancy (abortion) is excluded. Additionally, women suffering illness arising out of miscarriage are also entitled to paid leave of up to one month on submission of relevant medical proofs. What are the rules in other countries? The United States does not offer paid maternity leave. It offers 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during the 12 months for the birth of a child and the care of the newborn. The United Kingdom and Australia offer one of the longest-paid maternity benefits in the world, which stands at 52 weeks. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.