Two regulations, two signatures - a small change that can change the fate of some 30,000 women a year, but after all, also their loved ones, their partners, their families. It is the restoration of normality and the conversion of cruel law into humane law. Because this is how the state should act, to help and support where necessary, and not to harm when harm is caused by fate,

said minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk. 

New legislation - an important change for thousands of women 

On 21 July 2025, the minister signed two regulations that solve this long-standing problem. These will come into force on 6 August this year. 

Until now, after pregnancy loss - especially before the 16th week - women could not benefit from either the right to reduced leave or funeral benefits if the medical records did not specify the sex. Sex was often only possible to determine on the basis of an expensive genetic test, which was difficult to access, expensive and not always conclusive. 

The new regulations end this requirement. 

Attestation instead of birth certificate 

The regulations introduce the possibility to obtain reduced leave and funeral allowance on the basis of an attestation of stillbirth issued by a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology (or a trainee in this specialisation) or a midwife. This attestation will be issued regardless of the duration of the pregnancy and will not require a sex determination. 

The changes introduce the possibility of obtaining: 

• a funeral allowance - on the basis of a death certificate or an attestation from a doctor or midwife, 

• an allowance for the period of reduced leave (formally maternity benefit) - based on an attestation from a doctor or midwife, 

It will still be possible to use the leave and receive funeral benefits on the basis of a birth certificate with a note on stillbirth, but its absence will no longer be a barrier. 

Miscarriage affects approximately 30,000 women per year. With these changes, they will gain access to benefits and support, without additional paperwork. 

I would like to thank very sincerely all the members of the team set up in the Ministry of the Family: the social side, the organisations, the parents after a loss and other ministries and institutions. It is within this team that we have developed those solutions that give women and families after a loss the chance to live through the loss with dignity and recover fully. This would not have been possible without the enormous commitment of the public side. Thank you very much for this, and I am glad that this, yet another, cruel absurdity of Polish law is now being abolished,

summed up minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk.