Minister Petra De Sutter. — © Fred Debrock
Federal employees faced with a pregnancy loss will now be able to count on two days of family leave. The leave is also available for the partner of the woman with pregnancy loss.
This was announced by Minister of Civil Service Petra De Sutter. “A pregnancy loss is physically and emotionally devastating,” says De Sutter, herself a gynecologist. The proposal was approved by the Council of Ministers on Friday.
“A pregnancy loss is hard. I thought it was important to acknowledge that pain and loss. Women and their partners who work for the federal government receive two days of leave if they lose their pregnancy,” said De Sutter.
Maternity leave for federal employees applies to both women and their partners. “’People faced with an early pregnancy loss under 180 days are entitled to the two days. They must have reported in advance to their employer that they are pregnant, as provided for in the Codex of Wellbeing at Work,” the minister explains.
Last year, 884 federal government employees took maternity leave. “We do not know exactly how many times pregnancy loss occurs among our employees. We do learn from studies that in general up to 25 percent of pregnancies end in loss,” De Sutter added.
The minister points out that there is often still a taboo on pregnancy loss. “People who lose their pregnancies often cope alone because they don’t know how others will respond to their pain. By now legally arranging these two days, I hope to help break the taboo and make pregnancy loss a topic of discussion.”
