Support during pregnancy

If you live in Finland, you may be eligible for a maternity grant (äitiysavustus). The maternity grant is, according to your choice, either the maternity package (äitiyspakkaus) or a fixed sum of money free of taxes. The maternity package contains baby clothes as well as care products and materials.

You are entitled to a maternity grant once

• your pregnancy has lasted for about five months
• you have had a medical examination before the end of your fourth month of pregnancy
• you live permanently in Finland. Read more on the page Finnish social security.

Apply for maternity grant from Kela at least two months before the due date. You must include with your application a certificate showing how many weeks pregnant you are. You can get it from a maternity clinic or doctor.

You can take pregnancy leave 14–30 working days before the expected due date. During that time, you will receive pregnancy allowance. It is paid for 40 working days, i.e. approximately 1.5 months.

You can get pregnancy allowance if the following conditions are met:

• You are a parent giving birth and your pregnancy has continued for 154 days
• You are not working during that time
• You are eligible for Kela benefits

More information about eligibility is available on the page Finnish social security.

Remember to notify your employer about your pregnancy leave at least two (2) months before it begins.

You can receive pregnancy allowance even if you are a student or unemployed.

You can apply for pregnancy allowance once you are 154 days into your pregnancy. You must apply for it no later than two (2) months after your pregnancy allowance period starts. You will receive a pregnancy certificate from the child health and maternity clinic. You need to attach it to your application.

Kela allowances are taxable benefits for which you need to acquire a tax card. Read more on the InfoFinland page Tax card.

You can apply for maternity grant and pregnancy allowance on the Kela website.

• Log in using your online banking credentials or a mobile certificate.
• The service provides advice on how to fill in the application form.
• At the same address you can also see how the processing of your application is progressing.
• After your application has been processed, you can see at the same address the amount of benefit you will be paid and the payment date.

The service is available in Finnish and Swedish.

Alternatively, you can apply for maternity grant and pregnancy allowance by filling in a paper form. Post the application and its appendices to any Kela office. You can get help for filling in the application at the child health and maternity clinic.

After the pregnancy allowance period, you can take parental leave and receive parental allowance.

Read more about parental allowance on the InfoFinland page Benefits for a family after a child is born.