Special maternity leave of 60 days will be given to all women employees of the Central Government in case of the death of a newborn baby immediately after delivery. An order in this regard was issued by the Department of Personnel and Training on Friday. The order said that this decision has been taken keeping in view the emotional injury caused to the mother by the birth of a stillborn child or the death of a newborn child soon after birth as such incidents have a profound impact on the life of the mother.
The DoPT stated that it has received several applications seeking clarification regarding leave/maternity leave in case of stillbirth or death immediately after birth.
The department said in the order, ‘The issue has been discussed with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Keeping in view the shock caused by the birth of a dead newborn baby or its death soon after delivery, it has been decided to grant special maternity leave of 60 days to the women employees of the Central Government in such a situationThe DoPT has said in its order, if a woman employee of the Central Government has already taken maternity leave and her leave continues till the birth of a stillborn child or the death of the child, the leave taken by the employee till the date of such occurrence shall be deemed to be her can be converted into any other leave. No medical certificate of any kind will be required.
According to the order, the employee will be given special maternity leave of 60 days immediately from the day of the birth of a dead child or the death of the child. According to the order, if a woman employee of the Central Government has not taken maternity leave, then she can be given a special maternity leave of 60 days from the date of the birth of the dead child or the death of the child.
According to the order issued to all the Ministries/Departments of the Central Government, this provision will be considered effective if the newborn dies within 28 days from the date of delivery.
According to the DoPT, stillbirth is defined as the birth of a stillborn child after birth with no signs of life or the birth of a live child after a gestation period of 28 weeks (seven months).
According to the order, the benefit of special maternity leave will be available to only those women employees of the Central Government who have less than two living children and whose delivery has taken place in an authorised hospital. Authorised Hospital means Government Hospital or such private hospitals which are empaneled in the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). According to the order of DoPT, it will be mandatory to give ‘Emergency Certificate’ in case of emergency delivery in any private hospital outside the empaneled.
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