According to Mr. Do Van Ky (name of the character changed), on July 1, 2026, the social insurance agency where he lives issued an official letter guiding a number of contents to resolve maternity benefits when giving birth to a second child.
However, the official dispatch only gives general guidance: "Retirement from maternity benefits is implemented according to the provisions of the Population Law No. 113/2025/QH15 and the Law on Social Insurance (BHXH): Female workers are entitled to 7 months of pre- and post-partum leave, the pre-partum leave period is no more than 2 months.
In case of twins or more, from the second child onwards, each child is entitled to an additional 1 month of leave. Male workers participating in social insurance when their wives have twins or have the second child are entitled to 10 working days of leave; in case of triplets or more, from the third child onwards, they are entitled to an additional 3 working days of leave for each child.
Mr. Do Van Ky raised the question, in case female workers give birth to a second child, and also twins (while the first child is still alive), is the female worker entitled to 7 months or 8 months of maternity leave?
Request the Social Insurance agency to clarify this case" - Mr. Do Van Ky proposed.
Regarding his proposal, the Ministry of Home Affairs responded on the Electronic Information Portal.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Clause 1, Article 29 of the Population Law No. 113/2025/QH15 amending and supplementing Clause 1, Article 139 of the Labor Code No. 49/2019/QH15 stipulates: Female workers are entitled to maternity leave before and after giving birth for 6 months; in case of giving birth to the second child, they are entitled to a 7-month leave, the pre-birth leave period is no more than 2 months. In case of giving birth to twins or more, from the second child onwards, for each child, the mother is entitled to an additional 1-month leave.
Conditions for enjoying maternity leave when giving birth to a second child are specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 168/2026/ND-CP dated May 15, 2026 of the Government. Accordingly, female workers giving birth to a second child are entitled to this regime when at the time of birth there is a surviving biological child.
Based on the above regulations, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that in the case of female workers giving birth to a second child, at the time of birth there is one surviving biological child and twins, the maternity leave period before and after birth is 8 months.
The Ministry of Home Affairs requests that in case of questions about specific cases, citizens contact the local social insurance agency for detailed information.
