Maternity
Eligibility conditions
Entitlement to maternity benefits is confirmed when you receive a maternity record book from the Medical Benefits Department of the CAMTI, containing the various forms needed to for:
- the reimbursement of the medical expenses incurred throughout pregnancy;
- if you meet the conditions, compensation for maternity leave;
- as well as Prenatal Allowances paid by the Family Benefits Department.
In order to obtain this document, the mother-to-be or her spouse, if she herself does not have an occupational activity entitling her to similar benefits, must satisfy the following conditions:
- proof of a more than one month's registration period on the estimated conception date of the pregnancy,
- proof that a registration has not ceased to have effect for the entire duration of the pregnancy, i.e. during the period between the start of the pregnancy and the date of delivery,
- have had the first prenatal examination before the end of the third month of pregnancy and sent the Fund the pregnancy certificate drawn up at that time.
Reimbursement of medical expenses
For the mother-to-be, some medical expenses are covered in full. These are:
- treatments included in the maternity record, the reimbursement of which is requested using a form from this record book,
- treatments performed after the sixth month of pregnancy,
- along with maternity-related hospital stays, up to a maximum of 12 days.
Full coverage or exemption from patient contribution, does not mean that the medical expenses incurred will be fully reimbursed, but simply that no deduction will be applied to the fund's reimbursement tariff.
However, the reimbursement tariff may, in some cases, be less than the invoiced fee, particularly:
- if you have used a non-contracted doctor, or
- if you are not in the green category and the delivery takes place in a clinic or public hospital with the choice of a practitioner's private practice.
Healthcare professionals contracted to the CSM
Your maternity leave
As a self-employed person who is a member of CAMTI, you may be entitled to daily benefits if you wish to interrupt your personal activity in order to devote yourself to the arrival of your child.
Compensation can only start from the date on which you actually cease to carry out your activity personally (your company's activity may continue, particularly if you have employees).
Compensation is paid in the form of a daily lump sum set by ministerial decree (indicative value on 1 March 2024 = €129.60).
Important: In application of the legislation, this compensation is available to mothers who give birth after 1 March 2024.
The maximum duration of paid leave depends on the composition of your household (number of children you have had or number of dependent children in your household) and the number of children you are expecting.
Total duration of leave | including prenatal period | including postnatal period | ||
| SINGLE PREGNANCY | Less than 2 children already dependent or born viable | 18 | 8 | 10 |
| 2 or more children already dependent or born viable | 26 | 8 | 18 | |
| TWIN PREGNANCY | 34 | 12 | 22 | |
| MORE THAN 2 CHILDREN TO BE BORN | 46 | 24 | 22 | |
N.B.: If a pathological condition related to maternity justifies an interruption of work after the end of the 5th month of pregnancy, additional time off compensated on the same basis may be granted on medical prescription; this does not have to be linked to the prenatal leave.
With the exception of the specific case described above, maternity leave cannot be discontinuous. When the employee returns to work, any unused leave balance cannot be carried over or compensated.
Carry-over of prenatal leave: On the advice of your doctor, up to 6 weeks of antenatal leave may be carried over to postnatal leave.
Carry-over of postnatal leave: You can also carry over part of your postnatal leave to the prenatal period, up to a maximum of 4 weeks.
Your CAMTI contributions
If your economic activity (that of your company) is entirely suspended during the period of maternity leave, you can benefit from an exemption from payment of CAMTI contributions from the first full calendar month of stoppage.
