Maternity leave is 98 days; the maternity allowance is paid by the maternity insurance fund at the employer's average monthly wage for the prior year; the father's paternity leave and both parents' parental leave follow the provincial regulation

Having a child comes with at least 98 days of maternity leave, with more days added for a difficult birth or a multiple birth. During that time the maternity insurance fund pays the maternity allowance. If your employer did not enroll you in maternity insurance, the employer pays it. The father's paternity leave, and parental leave for both parents, follow your province's regulation. In Beijing, paternity leave is 15 days, and until the child turns 3 each parent gets 5 working days of parental leave a year.

Cost

It costs nothing. Your employer files the claim; you do not have to make the trip yourself.

Benefit

The number of maternity-leave days is set by the State Council. "Female employees are entitled to 98 days of maternity leave, of which 15 days may be taken before the birth; a difficult birth adds 15 days; for a multiple birth, each additional 1 baby adds 15 days." The money paid during maternity leave is the maternity allowance. For someone already in maternity insurance, it is "paid by the maternity insurance fund at the standard of the employer's average monthly wage for employees in the prior year." If you are not enrolled, the employer pays you at the wage you had before the leave. The father's paternity leave, and parental leave for both parents, are set by each province's population and family planning regulation. Beijing: the mother gets another 60 days of extended maternity leave, and the father gets 15 days of paternity leave. Until the child turns 3, the couple "each receive 5 working days of parental leave a year," and wages must not be cut during that leave. Shanghai: the mother gets another 60 days of maternity leave, and the father gets 10 days of paternity leave. Until the child turns 3, "each of them may take 5 days of parental leave a year," paid as for a normal day at work. Guangdong: the mother gets 80 days of reward leave, and the father gets 15 days of paternity leave. While the child is under 3, each parent gets 10 days of parental leave a year, and wages are paid as usual during the leave. Sichuan, the 2025 edition: the mother gets 90 days of extended maternity leave, and the father gets 30 days of nursing leave. While the child is under 3, the couple each get 10 working days of parental leave a year, and the leave counts as attendance. In 2024 the General Office of the State Council required localities to make sure that "maternity leave, childbirth reward leave, paternity leave, parental leave, and other leave for having a child are actually granted."

Notes

98 days is the national minimum. The regulations of the 4 provinces above each add another 60 to 90 days of childbirth reward leave, for a total of 158 to 188 days. How many days another province adds is in that province's regulation. Which side pays wages during the reward leave differs by province. To check your own province, search the National Laws and Regulations Database (flk.npc.gov.cn) for the province name plus "population and family planning regulation," and use the version marked in force. In some provinces paternity leave is called nursing leave. Parental leave is counted in working days in some provinces and in calendar days in others. The day counts for the 4 provinces above are taken from the regulations as of October 2026, and they may be revised later.

Sources · 6

1. 国务院 (2012). 女职工劳动保护特别规定（国令第 619 号，第七条、第八条）. gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2012-05/07/content_6…
2. 北京市人民代表大会常务委员会 (2021). 北京市人口与计划生育条例（2021 年 11 月 26 日修正，第十九条）. flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8081817d99878a017d…
3. 上海市人民代表大会常务委员会 (2021). 上海市人口与计划生育条例（2021 年 11 月 25 日修正，第三十一条）. flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8081817f3b9178017f…
4. 广东省人民代表大会常务委员会 (2021). 广东省人口与计划生育条例（2021 年 12 月 1 日修正，第三十条）. flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8081817fb1209d017f…
5. 四川省人民代表大会常务委员会 (2025). 四川省人口与计划生育条例（2025 年 11 月 28 日公布，第二十四条）. flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8081819aedd63e019b…
6. 国务院办公厅 (2024). 关于加快完善生育支持政策体系推动建设生育友好型社会的若干措施（国办发〔2024〕48号）. gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202410/content_69834…