The birth of a child is a special and truly emotional event in life. When a child is born prematurely or has to stay in hospital after birth for other reasons, this results in added stress and fear for the health and often the life of the baby. Until now, the long weeks spent at the incubator were counted as part of the maternity leave, which led to parents losing time that they could spend together after the long-awaited return home with their child. 

This has changed. On 19 March 2025, a new law introducing additional leave for parents of children born prematurely and hospitalised after birth came into force.  

Giving time back to parents 

We are giving back to parents the most precious and valuable thing - the time they can spend with their child. Before, parents of premature babies and newborns who stay longer than average in hospital for health reasons, were losing that time,

said Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk during a press briefing at the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. 

This is a joint success of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy and the third sector - parents of premature babies, doctors, organisations associated in the Coalition for the Premature Babies, which worked with us for a year on the bill. 

Additional 8 or 15 weeks of holiday 

The law introduces additional maternity leave of up to 8 weeks or up to 15 weeks – depending on the period of hospitalisation and the week of pregnancy in which the baby is born, as well as the birth weight.  

The new leave is available to parents of children:  

• Born before the end of the 28th week of pregnancy or with a birth weight of no more than 1,000 grams - up to 15 weeks;  

• Born after the 28th week of pregnancy and before the 37th week of pregnancy and with a birth weight of more than 1,000 g - up to 8 weeks;  

• Born on time and hospitalised afterwards - up to 8 weeks. 

An additional week of leave will be granted for each week the child spends in hospital. 

What rules govern the new leave? 

The additional leave will be granted upon request - the parents themselves will decide whether they want to use it. It will be granted to mothers or fathers, as well as legal guardians, foster and adoptive parents. 

Importantly, the transitional provisions to the Act will also cover employees on maternity leave or entitled to maternity leave on the date the Act comes into force. 

The allowance for the period of additional maternity leave will amount to 100% of the allowance base. 

Note: 

In order to take the leave, you need to submit an application to the Social Insurance Institution before the end of the maternity leave, along with a certificate issued by the hospital stating the duration of the child's stay in hospital and the week of pregnancy in which the child was born. The additional maternity leave will be granted once and cannot be divided.