Pregnant or Breastfeeding Students

Pregnant and breastfeeding women enjoy special protection under the German Maternity Protection Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The relevant rules also apply to students.
Teaching staff will have to notify the Office of Occupational Health and Safety, Animal Welfare and Environmental Protection as soon as a student discloses to them that she is pregnant or breastfeeding.

This rule also applies during semesters in which the University offers remote learning only or a combination of remote and classroom-based learning.

It is important that you let your lecturers know that you are pregnant or breastfeeding. If they know, they can put protective measures in place and find solutions that are tailored to your needs.

More information and the names of contact persons can be found in the Chancellor’s  information letter to all students dated 6 March 2018.

Information for student parents can be obtained from Family Services at JMU.

The library on Wittelsbacherplatz has a parent-child room (see section ‘Studying and working’ on the library’s web page).

You will have to complete the following steps as soon as a student discloses that she is pregnant or breastfeeding:

1. Notification form:

Please complete the relevant notification form and forward it to the Office of Occupational Health and Safety.

Remember that you will have to complete the form together with the pregnant/breastfeeding student and send it to the address shown on the form.

The form collects information about the course taught by you that the student is attending.

If you need help completing section 5 of the form, feel free to contact the Faculty’s HR management team (please do so before you forward the form to Occupational Health and Safety).

2. Information letter:

You should let the student have a copy of the Chancellor’s information letter. That letter states, for example, where pregnant and breastfeeding students can get information and advice.

3. Meeting:

Talk to the student and actively ask her if there are any protective measures that will have to be put in place (e.g. measures considered necessary by her doctor). Those measures should be put in place. If you are unable to do so, please contact the Office of Occupational Health and Safety:

You should also discuss the student’s academic situation with her, e.g. if it will be possible to complete coursework earlier than originally scheduled.

You can prepare a written record of your meeting with the student and attach it to the notification form (optional).

4. Where applicable:

If the student is due to be seconded to, or assigned to work at, another institution (e.g. school) as part of her programme, you must point out to her that she will have to let that external institution know that she is pregnant/breastfeeding. If it cannot be ruled out that the activities to be undertaken at the external institution will pose a risk to the student or her child, you will have to find out whether it could be possible to move the secondment/assignment to another date. If required, please contact Student Services or the competent Examination Office.

5. Additional information:

• The Chancellor’s information letter to the University’s teaching staff
• Web pages of the Office of Occupational Health and Safety

What else do you need to know? (please be aware that we do not warrant the correctness of the information provided below)

Teaching staff are not under the obligation to actively approach students and ask them if they are pregnant or breastfeeding.
It is advisable to point out to your class, at the beginning of each semester, that students who are pregnant or breastfeeding should let you know.
If you think that certain activities undertaken in your classes may pose risks to pregnant or breastfeeding women and think that one of your students may be pregnant or breastfeeding, you should explicitly state that the activities pose risks to pregnant or breastfeeding women.