If you are pregnant, please contact:
beratung@chancenvielfalt.uni-hannover.de
or 0511-762 5750
Pregnant and breastfeeding students are under special protection. The Maternity Protection Act (Mutterschutzgesetz MuSchG) regulates maternity protection periods for students, the risk assessments and any necessary protective measures.
If you are pregnant, you will certainly have some questions. The Equal Opportunities Office is the first contact to report a pregnancy.
Covid-19 and maternity protection
Pregnant students are under special protection under the Maternity Protection Act and are to be classified as a risk group overall.
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Pregnant students during Covid-19
Pregnant students are under special protection under the Maternity Protection Act and are to be classified as a risk group overall.
An increased risk of infection can exist above all in the case of
- Direct contact with SARS-CoV-2 infected persons or persons with symptoms such as fever, cough and general feeling of illness,
- Contact with persons for longer than 10 minutes and <1.5 m distance indoors, especially without adequate respiratory protection (see below),
- talking to people at a distance of <1.5 m indoors, especially without adequate respiratory protection (see below),
- prolonged stay (>10 min) with several people in inadequately ventilated rooms such as classrooms, day-care centres, canteens, open-plan offices, rooms with air-conditioning systems with a high proportion of recirculated air without hepa filters and especially without wearing adequate respiratory protection (see below),
- longer stays (> 10 min) in larger crowds such as workplaces with high public traffic (e.g. gastronomy, retail or authorities), especially without wearing adequate respiratory protection (see below),
- Being present during activities where large amounts of aerosols can be released from the respiratory tract (such as singing, sports, heavy physical work).
Appropriate protective measures include consistent implementation of the AHA+L rule (minimum distance of 1.5 m from other persons, coughing and sneezing into the crook of the arm or a handkerchief, regular washing or disinfecting of hands, regular cleaning of surfaces, wearing of a mask by other persons, wearing of an FFP2 mask, sufficient ventilation). If the protective measures cannot be observed, individual solutions must be found with the student with, if necessary, substitute or alternative services or hybrid event models. -
Vaccination and pregnancy
Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 does not provide reliable protection against infection. Passing on the virus by vaccinated persons is just as possible as a new infection. Severe courses are usually prevented by vaccination or recovery. However, a conclusive assessment is not yet possible. For the time being, therefore, the measures described above should also be taken into account after complete vaccination or infection (recovery status) of the pregnant woman, and the vaccination or recovery status should only be a supplementary criterion in the assessment of the risk.
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Breastfeeding and Covid-19
As there are no indications so far for a relevance of a possible transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through breast milk in very rare cases, no irresponsible risk for breastfeeding students is to be assumed as a rule.
Studying while pregnant
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Maternity Protection Act for students
The Maternity Protection Act (Mutterschutzgesetz, MuSchG) also applies to female students. The law is intended to protect expectant mothers and their children as well as nursing mothers from hazards, excessive demands and damage to health.
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Risks for pregnant students
The study conditions to which a pregnant or breastfeeding student or their child is exposed are assessed and hazards are evaluated. This includes, for example, contact with hazardous substances, special physical demands or overtime and night work. Based on this risk assessment, any necessary protective measures are determined and implemented. This means, for example: If a laboratory internship has to be completed, it must either be completed after the birth and, if applicable, breastfeeding period, or the pregnant student is involved in group work, for example, in which they only complete written work outside the laboratory. For your information: Most courses at LUH do not involve any risks or hazards for pregnant or breastfeeding students.
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Protection periods
The protection periods for the pregnant student are six weeks before and eight weeks after the birth. The pregnant student may decide whether they wish to take advantage of the protection periods. If they take advantage of the protection periods, they are exempt from courses, examinations and laboratories during this time. The credits must then be made up or fulfilled with alternative formats.
If you are pregnant and would like to take advantage of the maternity protection periods, it is usually sufficient to inform your professors. If examinations are scheduled during your protection periods, you should report the maternity protection periods to the Examinations Office and plan with the teaching staff how these can be made up. In the case of final theses, you should always report your protection periods to the Examinations Office, as the submission period will be extended and you will be given a new deadline.
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Examinations during pregnancy
The examination regulations usually allow family-friendly exceptions for pregnant students and students with family responsibilities such as caring for a child or relatives (see in particular §16 of the examination regulations). Please contact your examination board or dean of studies for information on the regulations at your faculty.
If examinations fall within the protection periods, the pregnant student must clarify with their teachers, lecturers, the examination board and, if applicable, the Academic Examinations Office, whether there is the possibility of a substitute performance and, if so, what kind. In the case of final theses, you should in any case report your protection periods to the Academic Examinations Office, as the submission period will be extended and you will be given a new submission date.
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Leave of absence
Students can take a leave of absence for up to 6 consecutive semesters during pregnancy and when raising a child. An application for leave of absence must be submitted to the Enrolment Office every semester. You can find the application form and further information here: Leave of absence/ semester off at LUH.
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Breastfeeding and medical check-ups
Students may be excused from mandatory courses for medical check-ups and breastfeeding (§7 MuSchG).
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Breastfeeding- and recovery rooms
Many institutes and facilities provide special rooms for pregnant and breastfeeding students and parents to help them better reconcile work/study and family life. At Leibniz Universität there are breastfeeding and recovery rooms, study and recreation rooms and parent-child offices. You can find an overview here: Parent-child rooms and offices.
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Maternity allowance
For the interruptions in work during the maternity protection periods (6 weeks before and 8 weeks after childbirth), employees can receive compensation benefits.
Low-income employees who are themselves members of a statutory health insurance fund (e.g. students) and who are not paid during the protection periods receive maternity benefits of up to 13 euros per day from their health insurance fund (plus an allowance from the employer, if applicable). Low-income workers who are not themselves members of a statutory health insurance fund receive maternity benefit totalling 210 euros from the Federal Insurance Office.
The maternity allowance must be paid to the health insurance fund or the Federal Insurance Office or the Federal Insurance Office. To do so, you need a certificate from your doctor or midwife stating the expected date of delivery.
Contact
Joana Rieck
Phone
Fax
Address
Wilhelm-Busch-Straße 4
30167 Hannover
30167 Hannover
Joana Rieck
Address
Wilhelm-Busch-Straße 4
30167 Hannover
30167 Hannover
