The GuidesPregnancy & birth in Germany,in English
8 min read · Last updated September 2026 · Kept current by Emma, Birth & Mother
On this page
WelcomeYou arewelcome here
If you are pregnant in Germany and English is the language you find your way in most easily, this is the one page to start with. It gathers everything from your positive test to the weeks after birth. New here? Begin with our orientation guide, Birth in Germany, or follow it in order, step by step, in Step by Step.
In depth
The Pillarguides
Each of these is the A-to-Z reference for its part of the journey. Read them in order, or go straight to the one you need. Finding a midwife (Hebamme) is the one to start early.
01The German MaternitySystem
How the system works, and who is on your team.
02YourHebamme
Finding and working with your midwife.
03Step byStep
The practical timeline, appointment by appointment.
04Where to GiveBirth
Hospital, birth house, or home.
05InLabour
The stages, what helps with the pain, and the words for the room.
06When Birth ChangesCourse
A caesarean, breech, or VBAC, and the choices that stay yours.
07TheWochenbett
Recovery in the weeks after the birth.
08The FirstYear
Recovery, matrescence, and becoming a mother, across the first year.
A note on these guides
Your gynaecologist and midwife (Hebamme) lead your clinical care. What these guides bring is information: a clear map of the German system, in your own language. If you are still looking for a midwife, Ammely is the national search, by due date and postcode, and if you are near Potsdam, I am connected with English-speaking midwives locally and can help you find one too.
Your compass for pregnancy and birth
The quickreference
Your compass to having a beautiful birth in Germany, wherever you are in your journey.
Clear, practical information gathered into one place, so you're not piecing things together or wondering what comes next. Less searching. Less second-guessing. More confidence in the road ahead.
Care& choices
Care, choices, and getting ready for the birth.
Birth & Mother guides
Where to give birth inPotsdam
The three Potsdam birth spaces side by side: births a year, care levels, registration, water birth, and pain relief.Read the guideQuestions for your birthspace
What to ask when you visit a hospital or birth house, so you leave knowing it is right for you.Read the guidePast your duedate
What week 40 and beyond looks like, the monitoring, and the choices you can make.Read the guide
Where else to turn
Find a midwife, anywhere inGermany (Ammely)
The national midwife search, run by the German midwives' association (Deutscher Hebammenverband). Search by your due date and postcode, wherever you live. Start this early.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)The German Midwives'Association (Hebammenverband)
The national body for midwives, with a chapter in every region. What a midwife does, your right to her care, and how it is paid for.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)Pregnancy and birth,explained (familienplanung.de)
The federal health-education portal: calm, ad-free guidance on pregnancy, preparing for birth, and the Wochenbett. In German, but thorough and trustworthy.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)Keleya:birth prep on your phone (paid app)
A German pregnancy and birth-prep app with week-by-week content and an English course. There is a fee, though many Krankenkassen reimburse it, so it is worth asking yours first.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)Online birth classes inEnglish (Kinderheldin)
Video birth preparation and a midwife chat, in English, anywhere in Germany. Often free up to a year after birth through partnered Krankenkassen, so check yours first.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)
Healthinsurance
What your Krankenkasse covers, and how to claim it.
Birth & Mother guides
Help at home afterbirth
Doula, Mütterpflegerin, and insurer-paid Haushaltshilfe: what each one does, how they work hand in hand, and how to ask your Krankenkasse well.Read the guideWhat your insurancecovers
Midwife care, scans, classes, and the recovery course: what the Krankenkasse pays for, the few things you pay for yourself, and how to ask.Read the guide
Where else to turn
How health insurance works, inEnglish (gesund.bund.de)
The Health Ministry's plain explainer of statutory and private cover, and how to join or switch. Reassuring news: funds cannot turn you away, and almost all of their benefits are fixed by law.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)Compare insurers,impartially (Krankenkassenliste)
The official list of every statutory fund and its extra contribution (Zusatzbeitrag), the one figure that really varies. No commission, no comparison-site spin. German only, so it pairs well with the English explainer above.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)
Authorities
The offices and paperwork, before and after the birth.
Birth & Mother guides
Finances
Maternity pay, parental allowance, and your rights at work.
Birth & Mother guides
Working whilepregnant
Your rights at work: maternity protection, when to apply for leave, being signed off, and the job that stays yours.Read the guideBenefitsand entitlements
Mutterschutz, Elternzeit, Elterngeld and Kindergeld: what each one is, the deadlines that matter, and who will help you with the forms.Read the guide
Counselling& support
Free, confidential help across Germany, whatever you are facing.
Birth & Mother guides
After aloss
A gentle place to begin after pregnancy loss or the death of a baby: the care you are entitled to, and the people who understand.Read the guideTermination ofpregnancy
A calm, gentle guide to termination of pregnancy and abortion here: how it works, the counselling and certificate, ending a pregnancy for medical reasons, the costs, and support in your own language.Read the guide
Where else to turn
Free pregnancy counselling nearyou
One finder for every free, confidential pregnancy counselling centre in Germany: pro familia, Donum Vitae, Caritas, Diakonie, and AWO. Search by postcode.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)Pregnant and worried? Ahelpline (0800 40 40 020)
Free, confidential, around the clock, in English among nineteen languages. For any worry in pregnancy, including the path to a confidential birth.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)Low or anxious after birth? You are notalone
A national network for the hard feelings that can follow birth: low mood, anxiety, intrusive thoughts. Peer support and a directory of counsellors.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)After a loss:companionship across Germany
Support after miscarriage or stillbirth, with groups and contacts nationwide. There is no timeline for this, and you do not have to carry it alone.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)Bereaved parents andsiblings (VEID)
The national federation for grieving families, with regional support groups across Germany, grief seminars, and an online forum. In German.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)English-speaking parentsupport (Afloat)
A volunteer network for international parents in Germany: peer groups and a postpartum warmline, all in English.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)If your baby cries and cries:help near you
The national directory of calm, free clinics for crying, sleep, and feeding worries in the early weeks. Find one in your area.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)A line forparents (0800 111 0550)
Free, anonymous phone support for any worry about family life, big or small, from a national charity.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)Independent patient and insuranceguidance (UPD)
Free, confidential guidance on your rights and insurance questions, from an independent foundation. Phone 0800 011 77 22.Visit the site (opens an outside site in a new tab)
Family life inGermany
The first year: caring for your baby, the check-ups, and finding your own feet again.
Rather take it in order?
Follow the whole journey,step by step
Step by Step walks you through it in order, appointment by appointment, with tick boxes and the paperwork checklist to mark off as you go.
Begin Step by Step
To keep with you
The PrintableLibrary
A little collection, gathered as a gift, to save and print and keep close: in your Mutterpass, your birth bag, or on the fridge.
Birth & Mother
Booklet 1 of 3
Before the Birth
pregnancy
for your MutterpassBirth & Mother
Booklet 2 of 3
The Birth
the day itself
for your MutterpassBirth & Mother
Booklet 3 of 3
The Weeks After
the Wochenbett
for your Mutterpass
You can’t know exactly how your birth will unfold.But you can prepare for how you want to meet it.
Birth & Mother, there with you through the life-changing moment of birth, and on into motherhood